Room to Breathe
by emotional-static
Summary: “She looked just like Jasna, Sam.” The day before Alex's tenth birthday leaves Luka and Sam on somewhat bad terms when Luka misses Sam's ultrasound.
1. Late

A/N: I've always been a Luka fan, but something about the relationship between Sam and Luka drew me to write a fic about them. This story has been lingering in my head since the episode where the two slept together and I finally got around to writing it out. 

Reviews would be great if you all like what you read. :o) First chapter's just a basic intro. Based on spoilers through the latter part of Season 10, or what I've read anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the ER Characters. They are property of their respective owners. No infringement intended. Just borrowing for creative purposes.

ROOM TO BREATHE

CHAPTER 1

*                                  *                               *                                    *

April 24, 2004 

Sam sleepily rolled over in her double bed, squinting as the bright sunlight filtered through the blinds. Groaning, she sat up and yawned. It was way too bright for six AM. _Way too early to be up on a Saturday morning. _But her shift started in an hour, and she knew she had to get up right now, or she'd fall right back asleep. 

Pulling on a sweatshirt jacket over her tank top and pajama pants, Sam looked at the clock and felt her breath catch in her throat. **It was ten thirty.** She was three and a half hours late for her shift. Last week when she had been ten minutes late for her shift, Kerry had practically flipped. Now she was heading towards four hours late. Kerry would kill her when she showed up at County, if she wasn't already on her way over to the apartment to do so. 

"Alex!" Sam grabbed a pair of scrubs she had just washed the night before and tugged the pants on while digging around in her drawer for the scrub top. "Dammit!" Spotting the scrub top in the bottom of the laundry basket, she dumped the entire thing out and picked it up, along with her bra from the night before and quickly changed before her nine-year-old son could enter the room. "Alex?" 

Alex walked into the room in his tee shirt and sweatpants. "What?"

"I'm super late for work today. You going over Mikey's? Let me know in like…three minutes if you have any plans because I really need to leave before my boss—what's wrong?" Sam had just noticed the disappointed look in her son's face as he handed her a note. "What's this?" She scanned the note quickly and instantly, anger took over her:

_Sam & Alex,_

_Something came up and I have to leave town for a little while. Don't really know when I'll be back. I'll call._

_Love,_

_Steve_

Sam crumpled up the note and tossed it in the trash. In a way, she had expected it all along. Steve, the deadbeat dad, looking her up and strolling back into town when he needed a place to stay and her money to spend. He had been feeding her the "I want to be a better dad and I promise I'll stick around this time" bullshit for years now, and she had believed him. The only thing he had accomplished in their whole "relationship" was getting her pregnant when she was fifteen, nine years ago. "I'm sorry, sweetie—"

"Forget it. It doesn't matter. Can I just come to work with you today?"

Sam nodded and ruffled Alex's hair. "Sure. Get dressed and bring your gameboy. You up for hanging out into the lounge until lunch?"

"Whatever. Luka called like, two hours ago and wanted to know where you were."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I dunno. He said he'd stop by if you weren't in before twelve."

"I guess Kerry's not on today."

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Hey, we'll talk about this later, okay?" Sam called after him.

"Sure." Alex's bedroom door slammed loudly, and Sam sighed, retreating to the bathroom to attempt to tame her hair and brush her teeth.

*                                      *                                      *                               *

Sam and Alex arrived at County General about twenty minutes later. Sam could tell just by the lack of conversation and joking in their walk how upset Alex really was. He hadn't said one word to her since they left the apartment. 

Passing through the ambulance bay, Sam made her way up to admit to check the board. Thankfully, they weren't too backed up today, so she grabbed a chart, taking off her sweatshirt jacket at the same time. 

"Can I take off for Mikey's at three?" Alex followed Sam to the lounge as she held open the door for him, eyes still reading over the chart. "Mom."

"Yeah. Just chill in here and when you want to leave, find me and make sure you tell me," Sam said. She opened her locker instantly and shoved her jacket, Alex's jacket, and her bag into it. 

Alex rolled his eyes and sat down at the table, pulling out his game boy. "What did you do to make Dad leave this time?"

Sam grabbed her stethoscope roughly and placed it around her neck. "I didn't **do** anything to make him leave, Alex. You know how Steve is. He never stays."

"He said he would this time!" Alex shouted out. "He said he would be more of a dad!"

"Yeah, but—" The lounge door swung open and Luka walked in. He smiled when he saw Alex and Sam, but his smile fell when he saw what he had just walked into and how tense the situation was. 

"Face it, Mom. Dad left again because of your screwed up problems. If you weren't so screwed up, maybe he would have stayed this time around!"

Sam's face fell and she slammed her locker door. "Okay. Fine. We'll finish this conversation later, okay?"

"Hey, maybe Luka can prescribe you something so you're not so screwed up!"

"Keep it up, Alex, or you're grounded for the rest of the week," Sam warned him. 

"I'm going to Mikey's for lunch."

"Fine." 

"Fine!"

Sam brushed past Luka and stalked off, down the hall.

Luke sighed and turned to Alex. "Don't give your Mom such a hard time, all right?"

"It's her fault—"

"Whether or not it's her fault, she probably does already feel bad about it."

"Yeah."

Luka smiled at him again and headed out of the lounge and into the hall. He spotted Sam a few feet ahead of him, almost right outside the lounge door. She appeared to be studying the chart intently, although he could tell how angry she really was. Sam didn't have any intention of hiding it. She _was _angry—more so at Steve than at Alex, but she knew that Alex was only just taking everything out on her. 

"Hey," Luka greeted her. "You know, that chart's not going to turn into a patient."

"Oh. Yeah." Sam smiled and tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear. She started slowly walking away from Luka and slammed the chart on the counter. She felt Luka's hand on her arm and glanced up into his eyes. It practically made her knees weak, but then again, she considered herself pretty weak these days. 

"What's going on, Sam?" Luka questioned. He led her to a set of open chairs opposite the admit desk and she sat down. Luka took a chair next to her and stared at her with concern. "You were almost four hours late today. Did something happen? Are you okay? Alex?"

"Everything is going on," Sam laughed sarcastically, resting her head up against the wall behind the chairs. "For some reason my alarm didn't go off at six thirty like it was supposed to. I overslept until ten thirty, only to find out that Steve took off sometime in the middle of the night and left a note, which Alex found and now blames me for. He thinks that something happened between Steve and I that made him leave. Or, you know, it could just be my screwed up problems. And you know what? I'm fucking happy that Steve left. All he wants to do is look me up when he needs a place to stay or money to spend and I'm tired of it. His child support payments are already three months late. You know how much that sucks? To worry that the next time you come home your electricity will be shut off because you didn't pay the bill on time? I mean, I can't even drive myself to work because I can't afford a car! So how would I be able to afford car payments and car insurance? Whatever. Plus, I think I caught the bug that Alex had two weeks ago because all I've been is tired lately and my throat is sore as hell. Bottom line, now I know I'm going to get shit from Kerry for being late today. I'm just waiting for it. And that'll be the icing on the cake!"

"Dr. Kovac?" Malik had approached them in chairs, two gowns in hand. "MVA coming in. Three criticals and one minor. Just letting you guys know."

"Thanks." Luka took one of the gowns and handed the other to Sam. "Listen, what are you doing tonight?"

"Nothing," Sam replied as she tied the back of the gown. "Alex is probably sleeping over Mikey's. He always does when he's mad at me."

"What do you say about renting a movie? I'll make dinner. Your place or mine?"

"Make it mine. I need a good excuse to clean it up anyway," Sam smiled. 

"Okay. This was we'll get a chance to you know, talk about—"

"Us," Sam added. "Yeah."

"Yeah."

"What time?"

Luka glanced at the clock over the admit desk. "What time are you off?"

"Six. You?"

"Five. I'll wait in the lounge. I want you to get checked out for that bug before we go though." 

Sam reluctantly agreed to getting checked out, just as the ambulance pulled up outside. "Looks pretty serious."

Luka nodded his head. "Yeah. Hey, don't worry about Kerry. She's with her lawyer all day today about Henry."

"Thanks. I expected someone to rat me out."

"Don't worry about it. No one will."

*                               *                                 *                               *

The day seemed to drag on after Sam finished up that trauma and her various charts. She had sent a brooding Alex to Mikey's around two, but by four thirty, Sam was ready to call it a day herself. Not only was she still tired, but her throat hurt more than ever and so did her head. 

Chuny grabbed onto Sam's arm just as Sam was about to pass into the lounge for some water. "Hey Sam, did we ever get those lab results back on the patient in Curtain Three?"

"I'm not really sure. Ask Jerry and see if he knows anything about it. I know we're backed up though!" Sam called out over her shoulder. Opening the lounge door, Sam almost collided straight into Luka, who was holding a chart in one hand and half of a bagel in the other. 

"Hey," he greeted her through a mouthful of bagel. "Howdaufehl?"

"What?" Sam laughed. "Swallow."

He did and grinned. "I said, how do you feel?"

"Like crap, but okay. Just getting some water for my throat and wishing it was six already."

"As soon as I finish these charts up I'm off," Luka added, following Sam back into the lounge. He placed the charts on the table and handed her a bottle of water from the fridge. She took it from him thankfully and sipped it, coughing a little bit.

"Don't rub it in."

Luke placed his hand on her head. "You're warm."

"It's hot in here."

"No it's not," he smiled. "You probably have a fever."

"No—"

"I'll be right back with a thermometer."

Sam sighed and sat down in the chair, holding the bottle of water in her hand. Luka returned with a thermometer and she opened her mouth obediently. Within seconds, it beeped, and Luka checked the number that had registered.

"A hundred point two," he told her. "You're going home at five with me."

"I can't go home at five. I was already late this morning. I should be working until at least nine instead of six."

"You're going home at five."

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can, and you are. Even if that means I'll have to drag you out of her over my shoulder, you're going home to get some rest while I make you dinner. We had a deal." Luka grinned again and brushed some pieces of hair off of Sam's face.

"Fine," Sam sighed. "Let me call Alex at Mikey's and find out if he's sleeping over or whatever."

"Good, then I'll set you up to be examined in Curtain One."

"Luka…I'm fine," she protested.

"Then humor me and we'll see how fine you really are." Luka walked out of the room. "Call Alex!"

*                               *                         *                              *

By five thirty, Sam's various tests had been sent off to the lab, along with her throat culture. Alex was spending the night and part of Sunday at Mikey's, so she didn't have to worry about picking him up until the afternoon. Plus, she was off on Sundays, which meant that she could spend the day resting and hopefully making some order out of her trashed apartment. 

"Ready to go?"

"Yeah. In a sec." Sam slipped on her sneakers and grabbed her bag off of the bed. "Did you get the results back yet?"

"They said they'd call you in the morning. The lab is backed up."

"Could have told you that one."

Luka laughed and took his car keys out of his pocket. "Alex still upset with you?"

"Upset is an understatement." They passed admit and out the front doors, headed towards the parking deck. 

"It's not your fault, "Luka said softly. "So don't blame yourself."

"Try telling that to Alex. I'm hoping he's cooled off enough tomorrow before he tries convincing you to prescribe me something again."

*                                        *                                *                                    *

Short, and maybe a little boring, but it's only the first chapter and I needed to get something up. Next chapters will be progressively longer. Review!


	2. The Older Sister Cool Mom Type

CHAPTER TWO

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the great reviews! I'm glad that you all are enjoying what I have so far. Here's the next chapter. =]

*                                    *                               *                                 *

April 25, 2004 

Sam woke up sleepily the next morning around nine. Her apartment was eerily quiet, except for the sound of her shower running and the coffeemaker. Luka's pants and shirt had been picked up neatly off the floor and placed on the end of her bed, as well as her own clothes from the night before. 

Groaning, she rubbed at her throat, which was just as sore as the day before, if not worse. She sat up and tugged the sheets around her bare body just as Luka walked out of her bathroom with a towel around his waist. 

"Morning," he greeted, planting a soft kiss on her forehead. "Your fever's down."

"Thank god," she mumbled, falling back against the pillows. "I still don't feel any better though."

"Not even after last night?" Luka smiled. He shook his damp hair out over her face, which only caused Sam to pull the sheets up over her head. 

"Last night was great, but I still feel like crap. Plus that coffee is definitely not the best smell in the world right now," Sam complained. Luke gave her a sympathetic smile and walked back into the bathroom with his clothes, coming out a minute later fully dressed and now toweling off his hair. 

"I'm sorry." 

Sam shrugged and sat up again. "I'm sorry for complaining. What time does your shift start?"

"In twenty minutes. I'm on until ten tonight."

"Ten?" 

Luka nodded and sat down to tie his shoes. "Yeah, why?"

"You working tomorrow?"

"I'm on at six at night."

Sam sighed and nodded. "We didn't really get a chance to talk last night."

Luka gave her a small grin and started playing with the loose pieces of hair around her face. "I'm sorry. I know we didn't. I guess we got a little distracted. Lunch?"

"I have to pick up Alex from Mikey's, but what time?" 

"I don't know. I'll have to see how busy we get. Kerry's still not in today. Neither is Carter and Susan's on bed rest until the baby is born. It's just me, Pratt, and Morris today."

Sam nodded again. "Okay. I have to run in to get my test results so I'll see what's up then?"

"That's fine. I'll see you later." Luka leaned over to kiss Sam one more time before grabbing his car keys off of the nightstand. "Stay in bed."

"I'll try. And dump the coffee pot in the sink before you leave!"

"I'll try to remember that," Luka grinned before heading into the kitchen.

*                                    *                            *                              *

 Two hours and one shower later, Sam was heading towards County General. It was decently warm out today, probably in the mid sixties, although it was a little overcast. Still, the hospital was the last place she wanted to be today, even if it meant just stopping in to pick up some test results. 

Sam tugged at the black hair tie, allowing her damp curls to fall over her shoulders in messy clumps. She ran her fingers through quickly to separate them before walking towards admit. Unpleasantly, Morris, who was chewing on a piece of gum obnoxiously and scanning a new chart, greeted her.

"Hey, Sam," Morris greeted. "You're not on today?"

"Nope. Just came here to get my test results from yesterday. Where's Luka?"

"Where's Luka, eh? He took a little girl to x ray, last time I checked. Then again, I don't sleep with him so—" Sam's immediate glare silenced Morris and he closed his mouth. "Test results for you right here." His eyes scanned them briefly. "Oh, by the way, congratulations."

"For what?" Sam raised an eyebrow at him and scanned the results of her tests. Negative for strep and anything else under the sun, so she probably just had a minor cold and sore throat. It was when she reached the bottom of the results that she knew what Morris meant. 

"Your hCG levels are out of the roof. So, congratulations! Didn't know you were planning a little brother or sister for Alex there, Sam."

As much as Sam wanted to punch Morris in his face at that moment, she gritted her teeth and managed to regain her composure. "How far along do you think I am?" Whether she liked it or not, Morris was a resident, and he could probably make a better guess than she could off the top of her head, even though she was a nurse.

"My guess is about five to six weeks. Probably five, though. Want me to page Doctor Coburn? Or Luka, perhaps?" he questioned snidely.

"Morris, look. I'd really appreciate it if you kept your mouth shut about this right now. It's my business, not yours, and not anyone else's in the hospital."

"You got it. But really Sam, congratulations. I think it's great."

"Thanks," Sam replied softly. "Tell Luka that I'll be around if you see him." She pocketed the test results and sighed, heading for the ambulance bay. 

"No problem." Morris then answered the ringing phone inches away from where he was standing. "County General."

*                                     *                                       *                                    *

Sam rested her chin on her knees as she sat outside of the ambulance bay, staring up at the sky. She was pregnant. She had to admit, when she first found out she was pregnant with Alex, it had sounded nothing short of a death sentence. _Almost_. And then two missed abortion appointments and nine months later, Alexander Peter Taggart had been born at one forty-five on an August morning after almost twenty hours of labor. She had just turned sixteen the month before and now had a newborn son to take care of. None of the books she had read or the advice her mother had given her had helped Sam through those first few weeks of sleepless nights and the early morning feedings. Even though it certainly hadn't been easy, Sam felt that she had done a pretty damn good job of raising Alex, even though he was more mature then a lot of kids his own age. 

Sam didn't even have to think twice about who the father of her baby was. She had only slept with one person since she had moved to Chicago, and that person being Luka. They had been pretty careful too, but Sam knew that there still always was a possibility. She honestly thought that it never would happen again. Not until she had found that right person and actually married them. 

And even with Morris just taunting her with the test results like that, it did make logical sense. She had been increasing tired over the past two weeks, and just this morning she had been complaining about the smell of the coffee before Luka left for the hospital. Sam knew the signs all too well—they were almost identical to the ones she had experienced when she was pregnant with Alex nine years ago. The only difference was, she didn't have any morning sickness.** Yet.**

Sam didn't know what the hell she was supposed to do. Abortion didn't cross her mind, and neither did adoption. Technically, with her salary and Luka's combined, this baby could be raised just fine. She'd be okay, and so would this baby. Yes, a lot of things would change and her relationship with Luka certainly would, but the world wasn't going to end and pigs weren't going to fly. Things were going to continue on just like they would before. She'd just be a single mother to one more child and lose a few more hours of sleep. Plus, Alex was old enough to be able to help out and—

Single mother? Sam sighed. She hadn't even bothered to think about how she was supposed to tell Luka. Would he be upset? Angry? Overjoyed? Excited? Would he never talk to her and Alex again? She knew that Luka was crazy about Alex. Seeing them together and how they reacted with each other was good enough for her. But there was a lot of doubt and fear clustered in the back of her mind that she didn't know how to deal with right now. She was still trying to figure out what her and Luka _were_. Well, there was one thing she knew right now. She was pregnant with Luka's baby.

"Hey Sam."

Sam shielded her eyes against the sun and smiled. "Hey Pratt. What's up?"

"Waiting on a GSW. I thought you were off today."

"I am. Just swung by for my test results."

"So what's wrong with you?  Caffeine withdrawal finally catching up to you?" Pratt joked, pulling on his gloves.

Sam laughed. Practically the whole ER had caught on to how much she loved her coffee in the mornings. "Nah. I guess you could say I'm pretty healthy."

"Oh yeah. Good to hear."

"Yeah. Hey Pratt?"

"Yeah?"

Sam was about to ask him for advice, but changed her mind. She hadn't exactly been too fond of Pratt when she first started at County, but hadn't really done anything but bite his head off since then. The guy probably deserved a fair chance. "Never mind. Good luck with that GSW."

"Thanks. See ya tomorrow."

Sam smiled and turned the corner, heading towards the El.

*                                          *                                          *                                         *

By two, Sam had made it to Mikey's house and was ringing the doorbell. Mikey's mother, Melissa, opened the door smiling.

"Hey Sam. Come on in. The boys just finished up playing Playstation. Alex went upstairs to grab his things."

Sam stepped into the hall of Mikey's house and glanced around. "Did he give you any trouble?"

"Of course not," Melissa laughed. "Alex, your mom's here!"

"Coming!" Alex thundered down the stairs, his duffel bag slung over his shoulder. A blonde boy followed down the stairs. "Hey Mom." 

"Hey yourself. Hey Mikey."

"Hey Miss Taggart."

"Ready to go?" Sam asked.

"Yep. See ya tomorrow, Mikey."

"Later!" 

"Thanks again," Sam called out over her shoulder as she ushered Alex down the driveway and towards the sidewalk.

"Anytime!" Melissa called out, shutting the door of her home.

"Did you have fun?" Sam asked, hugging Alex loosely.

"Yeah. Mikey's got the new Tony Hawk game for his PS2. It's awesome."

"Cool."

"You think we could go out this weekend and get it?"

"How about we rent it first?" Sam laughed.

"Okay," Alex agreed, smiling.

"Someone's happy. Not pissed off at me anymore?" 

Alex shrugged as they crossed the street and starting climbing the stairs for the El station. "I guess not. Dad's not coming back, is he?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

Alex took a seat on the bench and Sam sat down next to him. "How come you and Dad don't get along?"

Sam sighed and watched the people crossing onto the platform. "It's a long story. We'd be here all night."

"I have time."

She laughed and smiled at him. "I know you do. You always have time for stories that involve personal lives."

"Not true. Only the ones with juicy details," Alex reminded her, grinning.

"So what are you saying? That I have a juicy personal life?"

"I dunno. Did you get in trouble at work today?"

"Nah. Luka cut me some slack."

Alex grinned. "Is he coming over soon?"

"He might stop by tonight, but you'll already be asleep."

"Can I stay up just to say hi?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders as the El train thundered into the station. "Maybe. You have school tomorrow. We'll see. We have some grown up things to talk about."

"You're not a grown up."

"Well then what am I?" Sam laughed. 

"You're like…the older sister cool mom type. Mikey's mom is a grown up. She's thirty-three. You're twenty-five. I get away with more stuff with you. You're cool until like, thirty."

"Then what am I then? Uncool?" Sam questioned before stepping onto the train.

"Nah, just old."

Sam laughed and tossed her hair back over her shoulders. "Watch it buddy."

*                                          *                                       *                                         *

"Hey, Luka!"

"Yeah?" Luka turned around and came face to face with Chuny. He closed his locker and spun the combination lock once, grabbing his keys out of his pocket. It was after ten, and his shift had ended twenty minutes before.

"Did you hear? It's going all around the ER."

"Hear what?" Luka asked, too tired to put up with anyone right now. He wasn't a fan of the gossip that sometimes spread around the ER, and made it a point not to interact or add anything to it. 

"Sam's pregnant. Apparently someone got a hold of her test results. Isn't that great? Wonder who the dad is, though."

"Oh." He felt the color drain from his face a little bit and cleared his throat. "Yeah, I had no idea."

"Yeah, it was all over her test results like I said. Well anyway, have a good night."

"I will. Thanks."

Silently, Luka made his way out of the building and towards the parking garage. The walk took forever, and even when he had made it back home to his apartment, he couldn't stop thinking about what he had just heard.

  
Sam was pregnant? Was it his?

He knew he should have stopped over her place tonight. 

*                                              *                                          *                                    *

Don't forget to review! =]


	3. Excuses & Favors

CHAPTER THREE

A/N: I really appreciate all of these reviews! Special thanks goes out to: NaomiP, tars, Melissa, joey, kate, alis, and dupton. You guys are great! =]

Hope you all enjoy this next part. I just wanted to clear something up though. I'm not planning on this fic turning into just your regular run of the mill pregnancy one. There will be a lot of different twists and turns planned for it, so please stick around and don't let the whole idea of the initial pregnancy turn you off. 

xo; Mari

*                                  *                            *                            *

Tuesday—April 27 

_"MOM!"_

Sam rested her head against the bathroom wall as Alex's piercing voice carried down the hallway. Her stomach seemed settled enough that she considered actually getting up, but knew better. She had tried that twenty minutes ago and couldn't even put one foot out of the door without her stomach flip-flopping. 

"Alex, what?" He had been calling her name and asking for something for the past hour she had spent in the bathroom. Sam knew that Melissa would be at the apartment any minute honking the horn of her BMW to take Alex to school. At least she'd be able to puke in peace until her stomach decided to cooperate long enough so she could finish getting ready for work. 

"Why are you still in the bathroom? You've been in there since I woke up! Someone named Kerry is on the phone, and Dad called fifteen minutes ago!"

Sam stood up shakily and splashed some cold water onto her face from the faucet. "Tell her I'm coming."

_"She's coming."_

Shit. Sam glanced at the digital clock next to her bed and saw that it was eight-twenty. She was going on twenty minutes late for her shift. Alex handed Sam the phone the minute she stepped into the hallway before running back into the living room.

"Kerry, I'm so sorry –"

"Sam, the department is not paying you for the hours spent at home with your son! We're already short three nurses today and they all called out with the stomach flu, so we really need you here as soon as possible."

"I know, it's just that—"

"I really don't want to hear any excuses. You know how busy we are down here all the time. I'm leaving at twelve, so god knows who will be running this place. Luka's not off until ten tonight, Carter's taking a half day, Morris is off in radiology, and goddammit Jerry—answer the phone! Look, just get here as soon as you can. Pratt! You're late!"

"Okay, I'm really sorry Kerry—"

Click.

Sam winced and pressed the 'off' button on her cordless phone. Usually she made a habit of trying to get along with Kerry pretty well and succeeded, but everyone knew that the Henry situation was adding another load of stress to Kerry's shoulders. "Alex? What did Steve want?"

"I dunno. He said he's in Santa Monica and he'd call us later."

"California?"

"I guess so. He said he's going to get an apartment or something in Los Angeles."

Sam knew there was no way Steve was going to be able to afford a decent apartment in Los Angeles without a job, but let it go. She didn't feel like upsetting herself over it and it definitely wasn't worth it at the current moment. 

Alex peeked out of the front window and started for the door, backpack slung over his shoulder and skateboard in hand. "Mikey's here. See ya, Mom."

"Bye. Be good. Please, no more phone calls from your teachers this week, okay?" Sam begged Alex as she fixed the beanie hat on his head. "You need a haircut."

"No, I don't. It's cool. Bye."

"Bye," Sam answered. She walked into the kitchen and placed his orange juice glass in the dishwasher. She proceeded in cleaning up the kitchen a little bit more and starting the dishwasher before heading off to the bathroom. Her stomach seemed to have settled enough now, so she ran some gel through her curly hair and brushed the bad taste out of her mouth before rinsing with mouthwash.

The phone started ringing again, and since she had one foot practically out the door, Sam let the answering machine catch it.

"Samantha, it's your mother. I'll be in town in two weeks and I'd like to see you and Alex…" 

*                                *                               *                               *

Samantha eyed the area around the admit desk cautiously as she approached it. She was now forty-five minutes late for her eight o' clock shift, and knew that with Kerry on edge today, she'd easily be expected to work until ten or later. That just was how it was around County. You never were supposed to get off at the exact time your shift ended, especially if there had been heavy traumas coming in all day and night. 

Once again, Morris was seated at admit, paging through the phone book. He paled at the sight of Sam and started looking a little uncomfortable.

"Hi…there, Sam." He plastered a fake smile onto his expression and shut the phone book loudly. "What's going on?"

"Um, nothing? Just another day of working, Morris. You know, it's what everyone else seems to do around here **besides** you?" Sam glanced over Morris' shoulder and saw Luka come out of an exam room with X rays in his hand. He didn't seem to notice that she had come in and immediately headed upstairs with Haleh jogging next to him. 

"Good…that's good. So how are…things with the lima bean?"

"What? Did anyone ever tell you you're a little weird?" Sam questioned him, shaking her head. She reached for a chart and scanned it. "Here, make yourself busy. Constipation in Curtain Three."

"Uh, thanks." Morris quickly grabbed the chart out of her hands and rushed away quickly. 

_'That was weird,'_ Sam thought to herself. She headed straight for the lounge and right for her locker, which she opened quickly. Chuny, Pratt, and Yosh were gathered around the table, putting the coffeemaker to good use. All three smiled and Chuny muttered something incoherent to Pratt, who grinned and eyed Sam, laughing. Yosh too aimed a smile and Sam's direction before helping himself to a bagel.

"Morning, Sam!" Chuny finally said, brightly. "You look great!"

"Oh, thanks," Sam nodded. "You too."

"If there's anything I can get you, just let me know," Yosh added. "I'll be up in radiology."

"…Okay?" Sam agreed before he could leave the room.

Pratt placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and picked up the chart he had been previously holding. "Good luck."

"What?" Sam called after him, but Pratt had already jogged out of the lounge. He hadn't heard her. Sighing, she shut her locker and slumped up against it, just as Kerry Weaver walked into the room.

"Morning, Sam. Any particular reason why you're late today?"

"I'm sorry, Kerry. I haven't felt that great since Monday and I guess I just caught whatever Alex had a few weeks back," Sam lied. She didn't feel up to spilling to her boss right now that there was a good chance that she was pregnant—most likely an excellent one. She just needed things to die down a little bit at home—with Alex, with Steve, her bills, everything—before going around telling anyone. She wanted to actually hear the heartbeat of her baby before saying anything to Kerry first. She just wanted to be sure, and didn't want to spread any more rumors around the gossip prone ER.

"Still, you should have called."

"If I'm ever late again I'll promise I'll call, Kerry."

"Great. Let me know if you feel any better by the end of the day." Kerry gave Sam a small smile before pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Kerry, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Kerry slid the coffeepot back on the maker and poured a sugar packet into the steaming cup.

"Is Dr. Coburn on today?"

Kerry nodded and sipped her coffee. "I'm pretty sure she's on from nine to seven. Actually, I just saw her down here a little while ago."

"Thanks."

"Let me know if you need to adjust your hours, Sam. I know how hard it is to get up in the morning and leave a son at home." Kerry smiled politely one more time before exiting the lounge and back into the busy ER.

Sam shut her eyes briefly and drew in a long breath. She spotted Abby passing by the lounge and immediately ran out and after her. "Hey, Abby!"

"Hey," Abby greeted. "Chuny, Mr. Cohen needs his bedpan changed in two."

"Thanks Abby," Chuny grumbled sarcastically as she brushed past Abby and Sam.

"I know I probably shouldn't be asking you this, but I need a huge favor."

"Sure. As long as it doesn't involve me holding anyone ransom or running to get Halloween candy, I'm all set."

Sam stared at Abby, not sure whether to laugh or say nothing. "What?" she smiled.

"Nothing," Abby smiled back. "Something a senile man was mumbling about this morning when I stitched his head lac. What do you need?"

"I need to run upstairs to Doctor Coburn for a minute. Can you cover for me? Or not cover, but—"

"Keep Kerry off of your back?" Abby laughed and nodded. "You got it."

"Thanks so much, Abby."

"Hey, by the way, what time are you off? Didn't you want to go out and get a drink last week or something?" Abby marked something down on her chart before glancing back at Sam.

"I was late this morning, so I'm not really sure. Probably around nine if I'm lucky. Maybe. I'll let you know?"

"Sure," Abby agreed. "I'll see you later. Don't worry about Weaver."

"Thanks." Sam checked around admit for Kerry a final time and headed for OB and Gynecology.

*                                  *                                *                             *

"Asystole, Dr. Kovac."

Luka sighed and stopped compressions on the elderly man, glancing at the clock in the trauma room. "How long?"

"Forty minutes."

Luka glanced up at Neela. "Call it."

Neela checked her watch. "Time of death, nine thirty-eight." She scribbled down the time on the man's chart and handed it to Luka. "Do you think there was anything else we could have done? An angioplasty, maybe? Dr. Kovac?"

But Luka wasn't listening. Instead he was starting off into admit somewhere, lost in his own thoughts. 

"Luka. Dr. Kovac?"

"Yeah?" Luka asked, his eyes landing back on Neela once more.

"I said, do you think we could have done another angioplasty?"

"I uh, have you seen Sam today?"

"Taggart? No…" Neela sighed. "Never mind, Dr. Kovac." She walked out of the trauma room silently. Luka snapped out of the trance he was in and did the same, dropping his gloves into the trash.

"Abby."

Abby glanced up. "Yeah, Luka?"

"Have you seen Sam?"

"She's around somewhere."

"A better hint then somewhere would be great right about now," Luka grinned. "More specific?"

"She said she had to run upstairs for a little bit, so I'm supposed to be covering for her—shit! Don't tell Kerry I told you that. You didn't hear it from me."

"Okay," Luka replied, slightly puzzled. There were a number of places Sam could be, and the fact that he hadn't had a good chance to talk to her since Sunday wasn't helping matters any, especially with what Chuny had told him Sunday night still ringing through his head. "Thanks, Abby."

"No problem." Abby walked away, and Luka walked towards admit. Morris was sitting in a chair again, flipping through the same phone book from before. 

"Man of the hour, Dr. Kovac. How's the lima bean?"

"What?" Luka eyed him oddly, and shook his head. "Don't you have work to be doing?"

"Uh, _yeah_," Morris replied sarcastically. "I'm doing something for a patient."

"Like what? By the way, you're on the Chinese take out page," Luka pointed out with a smirk.

"I'm looking for aquariums, Daddy."

Luka paused and sent a sharp look in Morris' direction. "What did you just call me?"

"Daddy? You know, congratulations? Sam's pregnant?"

"You know Morris, listening to rumors all the time and ordering Chinese food isn't going to help you become a better doctor. Neither is looking at porn or smoking marijuana in the bathroom."

"Hey, I was highly stressed out!"

"Look, just lay off, okay? It's Sam's personal business. I don't think anyone has a right to know what's going on until she's ready to say something."

"So she is!"

"I don't know. I didn't say that."

"So she isn't?"

Luka slammed down the chart and headed for the stairs. "I don't know!" 

"Hey, which one is it?"

"I don't know!" Luka shouted back angrily over his shoulder as he jogged up the stairs.

Kerry slammed the phone book shut and piled a stack of six charts in front of Morris. "I've had enough of your sitting around. Stop antagonizing Dr. Kovac and Dr. Pratt. Get off your ass and hop to these charts. Now!"

"Uh, yes m'am, Dr. Weaver!" Morris stuttered, grabbing the charts and taking off to the nearest exam room.

*                                      *                                        *                                      *

Sam pulled her hair back into a low ponytail, pocketing the appointment card she had gotten from Sharon, Dr. Coburn's secretary. After managing to speak with Janet Coburn for all of two minutes, Coburn had managed to squeeze Sam in Friday afternoon at two. She said it was the earliest she could manage, with emergency c-sections, scheduled inductions, and the regular deliveries that were coming in every day. Still, Sam had hoped she could have gotten the appointment a little sooner, but was glad that she at least had one now so she could confirm and know she was pregnant for sure. 

A lot of things ran through her mind while she was upstairs in OB. How was she supposed to break it to Luka, and more importantly, to Alex? She didn't know how he would react to finding out he wasn't going to be an only child anymore. Would he be jealous, or totally accepting of the idea? 

_She and Luka hadn't even gotten around to talking about their ''relationship'' yet._ Anytime they ever got close to talking, they solved their problems by getting carried away in the bedroom, which ultimately solved **nothing**. It just brought them back to where they had started from like a vicious cycle. 

It wasn't that she didn't care about Luka--Sam knew that she did. There were just a lot of things that were getting in the way lately. First it had just been a fling that was bordering on the potential of becoming something more until his French girlfriend from the Congo, Gillian, had showed up. Sam knew that now Gillian and Luka were no longer together, and had been that way ever since Gillian had left, but it did make Sam feel used in a way. She just wished that Luka had told her that he was involved with someone before showing up on his doorstep like an idiot that night. What a surprise that had been. Plus, his infamous reputation as a womanizer kept her on her guard for those first few months she had worked with him, until she had actually had a good conversation with him and realized that he had a good heart and soul.

Luka was a person she could easily see herself being with in the next few years. Whether or not they wanted to admit it, they both had more in common then was obvious. Granted, there were things that Sam didn't know about Luka's past and things that Luka didn't know about Sam's, but right now, Sam knew that they both just needed to focus on what they both wanted out of a potential relationship together. Ultimately, Sam needed to know for sure if she was pregnant—and if she could count on Luka being there for her though out the pregnancy. She didn't want to find out six months later that he wanted no part in it. Sam wanted Luka by her and Alex's side every step of the way or not at all.

"Sam!"

Sam turned around near the elevators and saw Luka jogging towards her. He approached her and took a look around. She was a little embarrassed—she hadn't wanted him to find out this way. They both were too aware of what floor they were now on.

"Abby said you might be up around here."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "I just had something I needed to take care of."

_Take care of?_ Luka thought back on Nicole, and how she had gotten an abortion without letting him know. Would Sam do that to him like Nicole had? Wait, was Sam even pregnant, or was what everyone was saying just a rumor? "Everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah." Sam tapped the elevator button again two times and scratched her neck, waiting impatiently for the elevator. The doors opened and Luka and Sam stepped on. 

"Sam."

"What?" she spat out. It had come out a lot more angrily then she intended.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," she lied. 

Luka sighed and rested his head against the back of the elevator wall. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Okay, then what? You've been short with me ever since Sunday."

"Nothing. Just drop it, Luka, okay?"

"Are you pregnant?"

The elevator doors opened onto the ER, and Sam stepped out angrily. She mumbled something softly and shrugged her shoulders, heading towards admit. Surprisingly, Morris wasn't there sitting down. 

"Sam, don't do this," Luka replied, trying to keep his voice low enough so no one else could hear what was going on. "Talk to me. Don't shut me out."

"Maybe I am, okay?" Sam shouted loudly. "It came back on my test results."

A few people sitting in chairs, waiting to be admitted, looked up curiously. Chuny and Haleh stepped out of an exam room and surveyed what was going on. Morris and Pratt were heading towards admit, shuffling papers around. 

"Shh, okay," Luka said softly. 

"All you have to say is okay?" Sam added, just as loudly, if not more so than before. "How can you just say okay? Things aren't that simple, Luka!"

"Sam, let's do this outside—"

"No! Look how backed up we are! I haven't even worked since I got here this morning! I have a nine-year-old son to take care of, and bills to pay! I can't afford to 'take this outside' right now Luka!" Sam didn't know why she was getting so angry with Luka right now. She didn't know where the hell all the energy was coming from. She was just so frustrated with everything and not knowing anything at all. 

"Take it somewhere else, Luka and Sam," Kerry warned as she came out of Curtain One.

"Sam please," Luka begged. "Come outside with me for a minute."

"I'm pregnant. There. I said it. Thanks Morris, for informing the whole ER and reading my test results to the entire staff." She looked around at everyone. "I'm glad you all are getting such a huge kick out of this. I'm really thrilled that I was the gossip highlight of the entire week." Sam brushed past Luka, headed straight towards the ambulance bay with tears in her eyes. Luka turned and ran after her without a minute's hesitation.

Kerry shot an angry glare towards Morris. "Morris, my office in ten minutes. Everyone else, back to work."

*                                    *                                 *                                   *

Reviews would be appreciated! =]


	4. Adjusting

CHAPTER FOUR

A/N: Thanks for the reviews!: AGreatBallOfFire, JessicaPaige, jj, ER Fan, L, Margaret*Elizabeth, tars, Coffee Luv and MORT, Destiny-TWoP, dupton (I hope you feel better!), JennyGreenteeth, Mary, Randall, Melissa, NaomiP, joey, kate, and alis. You guys are great and definitely made my day! Thanks so much again. If I forgot anyone, I'm sorry!

Some parts of this chapter will include spoilers that I've read up to the first two episodes of Season 11. I didn't realize they were spoilers for Season 11 until I double-checked. ***sigh***I guess we're going to have to wait for our good Luke & Sam moments until this fall. Oh well. It's worth it, right? =]

Also, I can't really remember what the hell type of car Luka drives, and I'm too lazy to go through my ER tapes, so I stuck him in a black Lexus. I don't really know why. I kind of picture him as an SUV type of guy, so maybe I'll have him trade in that Lexus for one later on in the story.

One more thing, I can't really make a good estimate about Luka's age. I don't remember ever hearing how old he was on the show. I've sort of had a few of my friends give me what they thought was a good age. I stuck him at 34. Adding in his past, estimated years of med school in Croatia, a few years before County…I ended up with 34/35. I can't picture him as really being any older than that. The real Goran is 32, so I guess 34/35/36 it is. I'll take a poll: Leave an age in your reviews, and I'll pick one.  For now, he's 34 going on 35. Sorry if that seems too young or something. Can't believe I'm rambling on about this…okay! Enjoy the chapter! =]

xo; Mari

*                                       *                                     *                                       *

Luka quickly avoided a collision with two paramedics and a gurney as he rushed through the ambulance bay. He spotted Sam almost halfway down the street, clearly heading away from County General as fast as she could.

"Sam!"

Sam turned her head and paused in her tracks. She was so upset at that moment that part of her brain told her feet to keep moving—run away as fast as she could. _You've only been doing it your entire life._ The other half of her said to **wait** and talk to Luka. This wasn't just something Sam could solve on her own. Whether she wanted to admit it or not right now, she needed Luka's help. Sam needed him to be there for her. And maybe, it wouldn't be so bad talking to him and letting him in. 

So that's what she did. She waited as the April wind blew through her hair, letting her mind go completely blank. Sam only hoped that in the thirty seconds it would take Luka to reach her that she had something decent to say to him.

Luka found himself standing in front of Sam sooner than he had expected. They both looked at each other for what seemed like hours—but was literally only a minute or so. 

Sam rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet and nervously stepped closer to him. "I—" She couldn't get the words out and furiously wiped at her eyes instead. 

Luka opened his arms and pulled Sam close to him. She rested her head against his chest, letting her own arms wrap around his back. Nothing needed to be said—they simply weren't ready to face reality in that moment. For a short time, the world was shut out and it was just Luka Kovac and Sam Taggart. No one else. It wasn't until the sirens of the incoming ambulance blared that Sam finally broke the silence.

"I got your lab coat all wet," she smiled sadly.

Luka let out a laugh and kissed the top of Sam's head. "I'll wash it. I'm more worried about you right now."

"I'm fine…I just made an ass out of myself but I'm fine. At least people don't have to talk about me anymore. I think I cleared everything up for them."

"Don't worry about them. Morris should know by now that all test results are confidential. If it makes you feel any better, Kerry is probably exploding at him right now." Luka brushed a tear off her cheek with his thumb and smiled. "Have you eaten anything at all today?"

Sam shook her head. "I couldn't get anything down before my shift. Not even coffee."

"Let's get something to eat then. And talk. I think we need to."

"We can't just walk out." Although Sam really didn't care much about returning to work today, she was glad that Luka had brought up the fact that they needed to talk. For once, it was he who finally realized that it was about time to.

"I'll go back in and find Kerry and tell her I'll be back in for the night shift and you're taking the day off. I'll get you something to eat, we'll go back to my place, and I'll pick up Alex from school." Luka wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulders. 

"But—"

"Don't argue with me," he laughed. They reached the doors of the ambulance bay and Sam paused.

"Well…you go in. I don't think I can go in there right now."

Luka nodded with understanding. "I'll be right back." He kissed her forehead and Sam rested up against the wall, hoping that for the time being, no one would come outside and say anything to her.

*                                     *                                      *                                  *

Luka tore through the ER, brushing past Pratt and Chuny. He found Kerry hovering outside trauma one, still scolding a very pale looking Morris.

Kerry saw Luka approach her and sternly glared at Morris. "Back to work, Morris. Now. We'll continue this before I leave for the day." 

Morris said nothing but walked quickly down the hall, apparently afraid to be within five yards of Luka at the current moment. Kerry shook her head and threw a piece of paper in the garbage before focusing her attention on Luka. "Is Sam all right?"

Luka nodded. "She's okay for now. Listen, Kerry, if it's not too much trouble I'd like to get her the day off—"

"Tell her she can have Wednesday and Thursday off as well if she needs it. I've been pretty hard on her lately and now I know why she's not been able to focus. Take the day off and be with her, Luka. She looks like she needs you."

"Thanks, Kerry," Luka replied. 

"No problem. Congratulations, the both of you." She placed a hand on Luka's arm before heading back towards admit. 

Luka didn't know how Kerry Weaver could be so sure about things, but he was instantly glad that he didn't have to come right out and tell her that he was the father of Sam's baby. Not that he would have minded, but it would have been a little awkward talking to his boss about something like this. He and Kerry had never been very close as colleagues and continuously butted heads over important, opinionated issues in the ER. 

Without waiting for a chance to run into anyone else, he made his way into the lounge, grabbed his bag out of his locker, and headed out into the ambulance bay where Sam was still waiting.

*                                        *                                *                               *

Sam and Luka reached Luka's apartment around ten-thirty. They would have gotten there sooner, but Luka insisted on stopping at a local deli so he could get Sam a bagel and orange juice and a coffee for himself. The ride had been pretty much silent for the most part, until Luka unlocked his apartment door and dropped his car keys on the coffee table.

"Anything else I can get you?"

Sam shook her head and sat down on the couch. She pulled the bagel out of the bag and set her orange juice next to it. Luka disappeared into the kitchen for a minute, and Sam could hear him checking his messages on the answering machine and opening the refrigerator door. She broke off a small piece of the bagel and popped it into her mouth, trying as best she could to eat. She knew she needed to start eating, but something about the events of the day, the nauseous feeling left over from the morning, and the upcoming "talk" with Luka made her lose whatever small appetite she had worked up.

Luka brought his coffee back into the living room with him and sat down on the floor in front of the coffee table, facing Sam. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at her as she continued staring at the bagel.

"You need to eat."

"I'm trying."

"Try harder."

"You try eating this when you feel like you're about to puke all over yourself and the leather couch."

Luka made a face and then smiled, staring to laugh. "That was cute."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him and starting drinking her orange juice instead. "What was?"

"That little face you just made when you tried to tell me off. It was cute."

"So now just my facial expressions are cute?"

Luka just laughed again and took a sip of his coffee. "You're not too bad yourself."

"Yeah?" Sam smiled. "Well neither are you."

Luka started playing with the coaster on his coffee table. "So when exactly did you…find out? That you were pregnant?"

"Sunday. I thought it was just a cold and a sore throat. And yeah, I guess it was. But I never really expected that to happen. We were pretty careful, weren't we?"

"I know one night we didn't use anything," Luka pointed out.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. 

"You'd be six weeks then, if it was that night I'm thinking of. You've had morning sickness?"

"Just this morning. That's why I was late for work," Sam answered him. She picked at her bagel and ate another piece of it grudgingly. "I made an appointment with Coburn Friday at two. I just wanted to get things checked out."

"I want to go with you."

Sam nodded and washed the bagel down with orange juice. This conversation was going a lot better than she thought it would. Still, they had things to talk about—especially things that revolved around each other's past. Right now, Sam just wanted to work on getting the support she needed out of Luka, and it seemed like she was. "What time are you on Friday?"

"From five to five. I'll make sure I'll get a break or something right then. I won't miss it. Oh, Kerry said you could have tomorrow and Thursday off if you want it."

Sam's eyes lit up and she smiled. "Really?"

"Yep."

"That's good. I need the sleep and my apartment is a mess. I don't get how you keep yours so clean. Mine can look like this for an hour and then that's it."

He laughed and started rolling the coaster back and forth. "There's only one person living here. I don't have time to make a mess. I usually just eat, sleep, and go to work."

Sam had never realized how lonely Luka must have been, living all alone. There were a lot of things she didn't know about him. "Are you going back to County later?"

"No. Kerry gave me the day off. She says congratulations."

"Oh." She smiled and picked up the orange juice again. "Look…I need to know, before we get too involved in everything else…what are we? What are we doing? I don't want to go around thinking we're something we're not anymore. I don't want to be confused one day and happy the next. Are we just the casual friends with benefits, or do you want something more? Because that's okay, if you just want to be friends. I mean, friends is great. I guess. I don't want to think you have to be a hero. You really can't go wrong with just being—"

Luka leaned over the table, cupping Sam's face in his hands. He kissed her lips softly, and then planted another gentle kiss on her forehead before pulling away. "I've been really stupid. I don't know…I'm not very good with expressing my feelings. I like to keep them locked up. I guess I've been changed so much that it's hard for me to show a reaction sometimes. And I never meant to hurt you. I never wanted you to think that you were just someone else that I had seduced a few times and forgotten about. I should have told you about Gillian—I should have told you about a lot of things. I want to, Sam. I really want to sit down and tell you everything. But I want to ask you something, and say yes, no, think about it, whatever you want to do."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

"I'd really like for you and Alex to move in here with me."

She set her orange juice back down on the table and stared at Luka, blinking. Had that really just come out of his mouth? Sam didn't know what to say.  This was a huge step in their relationship. "Can I think about it? I just want to smooth things over with Alex about…the Steve situation before I make a decision. I haven't gotten a real chance to talk it over with him."

Luka nodded. "Yeah, sure. I won't ask you about it again until you bring it up." He eyed her half eaten bagel and empty orange juice container. "Do you want to go back to your place or stay here? Are you tired?"

"Yeah, I am. Is it okay if I lay down for awhile?"

"Sure. I could use a nap too." 

Sam stood up from the couch and carried her trash into the kitchen, where she dropped it into the garbage can. Luka followed and leaned against the wall, waiting for her. As they passed down the hall, he grabbed an extra blanket out of the linen closet and carried it with him.

Sam kicked off her sneakers and crawled onto the bed, pulling the large fleece blanket over her. She waited as Luka sprawled out next to her on his side. He adjusted the blanket over them and pulled her closer to him. 

"I don't want you to feel like you have an obligation to me," she said softly. 

Luka kissed her forehead and ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't feel obligated. I want to be with you. I love being around you and Alex. Don't think that I'm just doing this because I feel like I have to. There's a big difference between have and want."

Sam nodded and brushed her cheek against the material of Luka's shirt.  "I love being around you too."

"That's good. I'm glad you're not sick of me by now," he joked.

"I want to let you know that you don't have to tell me everything right away. When you're ready…I'll be ready to listen."

"Thanks." Luka kissed her a final time and shut his eyes briefly. "What time does Alex have to be picked up?"

"Two-thirty."

"Okay. I'll take care of it."

*                                          *                                          *                                       *

Luka parked his black Lexus outside of Alex's elementary school and drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. Should he sit here? Should he get up and wait outside the car? Luka didn't know. He had been a parent before, a long time ago, but since then, he felt that sometimes with Alex, his skills were a little bit rusty. He thought Alex was a great kid, but it had been a long time. Almost twelve long years since Danijela, Jasna, and Marko died in the bombing at their apartment in Vukovar. He thought about it now. Jasna would have been fourteen, and Marko, twelve. He wanted to know what they would have looked like. Would they look more like himself or Danijela? He would never know. He never could bring himself to think about them long enough. 

Distantly, Luka heard the bell of the school ring and thought for a minute that maybe he should have brought Sam with him. It wasn't that he didn't want to be alone around Alex, it was just that it was hard for him to do this right now. To see the smiling faces of children crossing the playground with their friends and knowing that he had never gotten to see his own children grown to this age. It was just something he had to get used to. He was going to be a parent all over again in eight months, and would be partly a parent to Alex too.

Still, he would have been a little more comfortable with Sam in the passenger seat. Luka had dropped her off at her apartment. She had wanted to get a shower and straighten things up before Alex got out of school. Luka had agreed, saying he would be back in twenty minutes. 

He glanced out the window and saw Alex heading towards him with a boy around his age. Alex had glanced up and spotted Luka, and with a little hesitation, he said goodbye to the boy and approached the car. 

"Hey Luka. I didn't know you were picking me up."

Luka nodded as Alex opened the car door and sat down, placing his book bag and skateboard in the backseat. "Yeah. Your mom asked me to. Is that okay?"

"I think it's cool. Is Mom okay?"

He nodded again and signaled out of the parking spot. "Yeah, she's fine. Her boss sent her home early and she's off the next two days."

"Cool! Wait, she didn't get fired, did she?"

"No. Her boss just wanted to give her some time off."

"Okay." Alex adjusted his hat on his head and looked out the car window as they turned the corner. "Don't you have work today?"

"I did, but your mom needed my help so I took a half day."

"What are we doing tonight then?"

Luka laughed. "Whatever you want to. We could rent a movie and get dinner if you want."

"Yeah. I only have math homework."

Luka wasn't really surprised at how well he was getting along with Alex on the ten minute car ride back to Sam's apartment. They had always gotten along, talking about everything and anything. Luka was pretty big on both American and European sports, and Alex thought that was awesome. He told Luka that Sam wasn't a big sports fan, except for the 'girly' ones like gymnastics and figure skating.

The ride had been much easier than Luka had originally expected—and once again, the memories of his past faded into the background.

*                                    *                                 *                                  *

"Ten more minutes on Tony Hawk and then you're getting ready for bed!" Sam called out to Alex as she walked with Luka down the hall. She opened the linen closet and handed Luka a towel and washcloth.

"Did you want to watch that DVD tonight or tomorrow?"

"How tired are you?" Sam laughed. "Because I'm worn out."

"Me too. We'll watch it tomorrow." 

Sam smiled and kissed Luka outside of the bathroom. "Shampoo and soap's already in the shower."

"Come in with me?" Luka begged, giving Sam a guilty look.

"Don't look at me like that," she smiled. "You know I can't."

"Fine, then you owe me a shower date."

"Fine. I'll be in my room when you're done."

"Okay." Luka smiled and closed the bathroom door behind him. Sam continued towards Alex's room. The nine-year-old was busy playing PS2 and hadn't realized his mother was now sitting on the edge of his bed watching him.

"You're getting pretty good at that," Sam remarked. "Me and you should play sometime."

"I beat you last time," Alex laughed. "No offense Mom, but you kind of suck."

"That's because you never give me a chance," Sam defended herself with a smile. "I'll kick your butt anytime. I'll even bet you five bucks."

"Cough it up. You're going down. I'll kick your ass."

"Hey," Sam laughed. 

"Sorry. I'll kick your butt."

"That's better."

"Is Luka sleeping over tonight?"

"Yup. What do you want for breakfast in the morning? He told me to ask you."

Alex thought about this for a minute as he shut of his PS2. "Chocolate chip pancakes."

"Deal. We haven't had that in awhile. Breakfast of champions." Sam ruffled Alex's hair. "I brought your toothbrush into the kitchen because Luka's using the shower."

"Cool."

Sam smiled to herself as she followed Alex out into the kitchen. Things were going pretty good right now and finally getting back on track.

Maybe for once in her life, everything would go right instead of wrong. 

*                                              *                                            *                                    *

Review please!! =]


	5. Baby Makes Four

CHAPTER FIVE

A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews! You guys are great. Keep it up.

There are spoilers in this chapter for early Season 11, just as a heads up. =]

*                                  *                                       *                                    *

Thursday night came sooner than Sam had expected. Although she had enjoyed her much needed two days off, a part of her actually wanted to get back into working. One, there were only so many episodes of afternoon soap operas and talk shows a person could watch, and two, staying home hadn't kept her as occupied as she thought it would. Being able to fall back asleep once Alex's carpool had picked him up for school was something she couldn't do very often though. 

Luka had come and gone over the past two days, although he had headed back into work that morning around five and was expected home soon. Their relationship had done a complete 180, and Sam found herself smiling more because of it.

Yawning, she carried the laundry basket full of her and Alex's dirty clothes towards the small room that contained her own washer and dryer. Tired of trekking out to the Laundromat, Sam bought the appliances last year before she moved to Chicago. It was definitely worth it, even though laundry was something she had always hated doing, even as a kid.

She set the laundry basket on top of the dryer and passed back into the living room, where she rummaged around in her stereo system. Every time she had to do any cleaning, Sam always made a habit of blasting some music throughout the apartment whenever she could. Since Alex was at another friend's house until eight, she figured she better take advantage of the opportunity. She rummaged around in her collection and pulled out her U2 cd, a favorite of hers. She turned up the volume as 'New Year's Day' started blasting out of her speakers. 

Midway through loading up the washer, Sam distantly thought she heard the phone ring all the way from the kitchen. Groaning, she carelessly ran out into the living room and paused her stereo. However, she hadn't seen the sock that was lying in the middle of the hallway and she slipped on it. Protectively she prevented her lower body from any contact with the hard hallway floor—and her wrist paid the consequences.

"Fuck!' Sam shouted out, standing back up and cradling her right hand in her left one. "Shit." She winced as she bent it back and forth before picking up the phone on the fifth ring. "Hello?"

_"Hi sweetheart! How are you? What took you so long to pick up the phone?"_

"Hey Mom. I'm okay, I was just doing my laundry."

_"Good. Did you get my message the other day?"_

Sam glanced up at her answering machine. Sure enough, a number one was flashing back and forth on it. "No, I've been really busy. I haven't had time to check or anything."

_"Busy working…or busy going out on dates?""_

"Working," Sam laughed. "Definitely working."

_"Oh. How's Alex?"_

"He's great. Doesn't really like school, but you know how he is. Wants to spend more time at Mikey's and skateboarding."

_"How's work?"_

"Work is work." Sam hated the small talk she made with her mother sometimes. She opened the refrigerator door and pulled out the ice cube tray. 

"Well, I won't keep you for long, but I'm going to be in Chicago the weekend of May fifteenth and I wanted to know if it was okay if I stopped by to see you and Alex?"

Sam checked the calendar. She probably could get a day off that weekend. "Sure. Are you flying here?"

"I'm certainly not driving from New Jersey."

"Okay, okay. Call me with the flight info. I'm really sorry but I have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure honey. Give Alex a kiss from me. Love you."

"Love you too." Sam hung up the cordless phone and started examining her wrist. It didn't look to bad, but it hurt like hell. Hopefully it would be just bruised and not sprained. Grabbing the ice cubes she had wrapped in a towel, she pressed it against her wrist and headed back into the living room. 

With the music playing loudly once again, she started up the wash and unloaded the clothes from the dryer. Singing along to herself, she pulled her hair back and slammed the dryer door.

"I didn't know I was coming home to a concert!"

Startled, Sam almost dropped the laundry basket she was holding. "Christ, you scared me," she laughed. "When did you get here?"

"I'm sorry." Luka took the basket from her and kissed her quickly. "Two minutes ago. I could hear the music all the way down the hall."

"I can't clean without it." Sam smiled and turned the stereo off.

"I bet your neighbors are thanking you right about now," Luka teased. He set the laundry basket on the couch and kissed her again, pulling her in for a hug. "What happened to your hand?"

"The phone rang, I wasn't watching where I was going, and I fell in the hall."

"You fell? How hard and what did you land on?" Concerned, his eyes landed on her stomach and Sam knew what he was thinking.

"Just my wrist. I caught myself. I'm okay," she smiled. 

Luka started examining her wrist and Sam winced slightly when he tried to move it to the right and left. "I want you to ice it and—"

"One step ahead of you." She held up the ice and Luka grinned.

"Okay." He sat down on the couch and started taking off his shoes. "How do you feel?"

"Pretty good. I've only had about twenty hours of sleep since Tuesday night," Sam smiled, sitting down next to him. 

"_Only_twenty? Don't rub it in." Luka yawned and Sam rested her head against his chest. "I have a double shift tomorrow."

"Oh," Sam's face fell slightly. "I was kind of hoping we could do something tomorrow night."

"What about Saturday night? I'm on from five AM tomorrow morning to five AM Saturday morning. Then I'm off Sunday."

"Yeah, but you'll be tired."

Luka shrugged. "Did you eat?"

"Soup and crackers about an hour ago."

"You want anything else?"

Sam shook her head. "No, but I need a shower." She pulled her hair out of the tie and ran her fingers through it. "Are you going back to your place later?"

"Probably. I have to leave early tomorrow. I don't want to wake you."

She stood up and started putting back the several cds she had pulled out before into the metal rack against the wall. "You didn't wake me this morning."

"I need to get clothes."

Sam shrugged and headed towards the kitchen. "Whatever." She pressed the answering machine button and her mother's message from earlier in the week played.

"Your mother's visiting?"

Sam nodded. "Weekend of the fifteenth."

"Do I get to meet her?" Luka grinned, leaning up against the refrigerator.

"Depends if you'll still be around then." Sam emptied the ice she had used for her hand into the sink and stalked out of the kitchen.

"Why are you giving me a hard time about this? We were okay this morning and last night. I thought our talk helped. I thought we were working this out."

"We are."

"Then what's the problem?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I guess there isn't one."

Luka followed her down the hall. "Sam."

"What?"

"Forget it. I better go."

"It won't matter to me if you don't show up tomorrow. I did it once before and I can do it again."

"I'll be there." Luka glanced at Sam. "I'll see you tomorrow."

*                                          *                                        *                                      *

Friday, April 30 

_10 AM_

Sam shut her locker and headed back to the coffee pot, which was finally done brewing the third pot of the day since she had come in around eight thirty. Finally. God, did she need another cup of coffee right about now.

The day had started off on a bad note. First, she had woken up at three thirty, completely nauseous and regretting last night's dinner of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Sam had spent the next hour in the bathroom before she finally won the battle against her stomach. By that time, it was heading towards five, so she had showered quickly and woken up Alex, who had woken up in a bad mood. By six, she had made him breakfast and had gotten changed for work. At seven, they caught the El. Sam had seen Alex off at Mikey's, promising to pick him up Saturday afternoon. Once again, Alex was spending the night as he usually did on the weekends, but this time, it was for Mikey's tenth birthday. 

It had been insanity since the moment she had walked in. A little girl in curtain two had dumped orange juice all over Sam in shock after she had set the girl's dislocated elbow back into place with Pratt's help.  Since then, two minor MVA's had come in, one Tylenol overdose—where the man had promptly thrown the charcoal back up without warning, causing Sam to change her scrubs one more—and a woman in labor who had almost ripped out Sam's hair on a painful contraction.

The bad thing was, it was only ten in the morning. Sam still had to go until eight.

Thankful that it was finally her break, she took her coffee and headed outside, willing to escape the hospital for a minute or two. Sam sat down on the wooden bench off to the side of the ambulance bay, bringing her knees up to her chest and starting to drink her coffee.

She looked up a minute later and saw Luka passing through the doors, hands in his pockets. "Hey." He looked at her, and then looked down and back up one more time.

Sam nodded her head. "Hey." She immediately felt guilty about the attitude she had given him the night before.

"Rough day?"

"That's putting it lightly. It's not even lunch yet and it's been the day from hell," she added sarcastically.

"Are you on a coffee break?" 

Sam laughed and shook her head. "Nah, I put vodka in here on special days."

Luka smiled and sat down next to her. "I just…I wasn't trying to be a hero when I asked you and Alex to move in with me. I don't want you to think that. I care a lot about you—the both of you."

Sam said nothing and instead moved the warm cup around in her hands.

Luka sighed and ran his fingers through his hair and then looked over at her. "I asked you to move in because…"

Sam glanced up at him, trying to figure out where Luka was going with this all. 

He continued. "…Because I love you.  I'm in love with you, and maybe…I don't know, maybe you feel the same." 

Sam gaped at Luka, practically opened mouth. Holy shit. "I…did you just say that?" She let out a small skeptical laugh. She was completely blown away by it. If she thought him offering for her and Alex to move in was strange, this certainly came out of left field.

Luka nodded, gauging Sam's reaction with his eyes. "I've spent too much time wasting time. So whenever you're ready, let me know."

Sam would have said **something**, but at that moment, a white pickup truck with the words "Nemo's Tank Maintenance" squealed to a halt right in front of them. Two men got out, and motioned frantically to Luka and Sam. One man headed straight to the back of the truck, and the other approached them.

"Hey, my friend needs some help! I'm a marine biologist. We had a little accident during a tank cleaning."

Sam peeked into the back of the truck around Luka and grimaced. There was a four-foot shark clamped around a man's leg, and the man was bleeding profusely from puncture wounds.

"We need to get this shark off now! It's an endangered species!"

"Screw the shark, I'm bleeding to death. This is the last time I help you out Al! I swear to God—ow!"

"I'll get a wheelchair," Sam motioned to Luka, and he nodded, going over to calm the man the best he could.

It was really going to be a long day.

*                                          *                                          *                              *

At a quarter to two, Sam was sitting in the waiting room on the obstetrics and gynecology floor. Kerry had let her off until three once Sam had explained where she was going. 

She tapped her foot impatiently against the carpeted floor and glanced up at the television. CNN was broadcasting, another special on the war in Iraq. She just wished Luka would get up here soon. She hadn't seen him much after the shark incident, and hadn't had a chance to remind him. Would he forget? Or get too distracted down in the ER?

At five to two, Sam heard heavy footsteps, and then Luka appeared in the waiting room. She smiled at him nervously and he sat down next to her.

"Hey. Sorry, I had to sign off on something for Abby."

"That's okay." Sam glanced up at the television and bit her lip.

Luka took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Nervous?"

She nodded. "It's been a long time."

"I know what you mean."

"What?" Sam glanced up at him curiously.

"Never mind. I'll tell you later."

"Miss Taggart?"  A petite OB nurse was waiting in the doorway, clipboard in hand. "I'll just need you to sign off on these insurance and medical history forms."

"Oh. Sure." Sam dropped Luka's hand and walked over, quickly reading over and signing off in the appropriate places before handing the clipboard back to the nurse.

"Dr. Coburn will be with you in a minute."

"Thanks."

Not even a minute later, Dr. Coburn stuck her head in the waiting room door. "Hi Sam, come on back and we'll get you set up…Luka, what a surprise, I don't usually see you around here."

"It's my baby too. I wouldn't want to miss the first appointment." Luka grinned at Sam as she said this. The look on Coburn's face was one of shock, but she quickly got over it.

"I had no idea. Congratulations."

*                                      *                                       *                                      *

Sam's exam went pretty smoothly, and Luka sat by her side the entire time, just holding her hand and answering questions when he had to. Both of their medical family histories had been taken, and Sam's first pregnancy with Alex nine years ago was discussed, as well as her past health over the years. 

The only uncomfortable part was the pelvic exam—it was a little awkward for Sam, but she quickly got over it. Coburn confirmed what Sam already knew—she estimated her to be almost seven weeks pregnant. More blood had been drawn and sent off to the lab, and Sam's next appointment had been set for the end of May. 

Once Coburn had informed Luka and Sam of the mid-December due date of the baby, Sam realized that Luka couldn't get the grin he was wearing off of his face. 

"What are you still smiling about?" she laughed. 

"I don't know. I think it's great. Right before Christmas. I never used to look forward to the holidays before. Now I have a reason to." He wrapped his arm around Sam as they headed towards the elevator that would take them back down to the ER.

"Yeah. Pretty crazy, isn't it? I wonder what Alex will say."

"You haven't told him?"

"Nope. Not yet. Waiting for a good time I guess." Sam stepped onto the elevator and Luka followed.

"Okay."

"Hey…I was thinking about what you said to me before, outside."

"Yeah?" 

"And I wanted you to know I didn't think you were trying to be a hero. I believe you, Luka. I just have a really hard time trusting anybody, but I trust you now. I never doubted you or anything stupid like that."

Luka smiled and linked his hand through hers. "Good."

The doors opened, but Sam held Luka back. "Wait, let me get this out. I'm ready now, okay? I love you, and I want to move in with you. Alex and I, we'll move in as soon as you want us to."

Luka tilted his head and kissed her deeply, then pulled her in for a tight hug. "We'll be okay through this. Don't worry."

Sam held onto his hand as Luka headed towards admit. She didn't care that everyone was staring. It didn't matter anymore. Her pregnancy had already come out, and soon enough, her relationship with Luka would to. 

Luka picked up a chart and grinned at her. "I'll see you." He stole another kiss from her before heading off to curtain three.

Sam blushed and almost ran straight into Haleh. "Sorry," she apologized, laughing.

"Looks like Dr. Kovac planted a good one on you there, girl!"

*                                       *                                   *                                      *

Please review!! =]


	6. Left Behind

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews and keep them coming! It really puts a smile on my face to read them and motivates me to write more and get what I have up sooner. I'd take the time out to personally thank everyone right now, but I'm about to go to sleep because I have to be up early tomorrow, so I'll save that for the next chapters.

xo; Mari

*                                      *                                  *                             *

May 8th 

It was the following Saturday morning when Sam finally decided that it was time to approach Alex about moving in with Luka. Sam had originally wanted to talk to Alex about it yesterday, but she hadn't gotten home from work until seven and Alex had hung out with two of his friends, Jake and Ben, before coming home around nine, hungry and tired. So she put it off until today, and hoped that it went over smoothly. 

"Mom, are my eggs done yet?"

Sam glanced at the microwave clock. It was a little after nine, and she knew Luka had just gotten off of his shift. He'd be heading to her apartment any minute now, and she really wanted to have this conversation before he got here. "Yeah! They're done, hold on. You want orange juice?"

"Nah, do we have any Coke left?"

"I don't know, did you check the fridge? Why don't you have orange juice with them? How can you drink soda this early?"

Alex came into the kitchen and shrugged. "How can you drink that crap this early?" he mimicked her playfully, stealing her coffee cup and taking a sip. "Ugh. Tastes like crap."

Sam laughed and pushed him away playfully. "Go get your soda."

"Yeah yeah." He grabbed a soda can and sat down at the small kitchen table with it. "How come Luka wasn't here last night?"

"He had to work late." Sam set the eggs down in front of him and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. "Do you want toast?"

"Nah. Toast is crap too."

Sam smirked and grabbed her coffee cup off the counter, sitting down across from him at the table. "You think everything is crap."

"That's 'cause it is. Aren't you gonna have any?"

"Nope. Not hungry."

"You're never hungry in the mornings anymore."

"Yeah, so?" she smiled. "Eat them before they get cold."

"When's grandma coming?" Alex asked her through a mouthful of egg.

"Next weekend. You excited?"

"Yeah, I guess. Does Luka get to meet her?"

Sam nodded. "If he wants to and he's not working, then yeah."

"You only introduce the guys you really like to grandma. Do you really like Luka then?"

She laughed and stole his soda can, taking a sip of it. "First of all, the last time I introduced a guy to grandma you were four years old and that definitely didn't last. And yeah, maybe I do really like Luka. Do you like Luka?"

Alex nodded and stole his soda can back. "Yeah, I think he's cool. Plus, I was friends with him before you were."

"That's true," Sam laughed. "I told you that you shouldn't have friends over thirty."

"And I told you that you shouldn't date people older than thirty," Alex sarcastically joked back, mocking Sam again.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Do I get money?"

"What?" Sam couldn't believe the hilarious things that came straight out of Alex's mouth sometimes. "No!"

"That's crap, Mom."

"What do you think about us moving in with Luka? At his apartment." _There it was._ Sam had finally gotten it out. Now it was just a matter of judging Alex's reaction. "We'd be living with him."

Alex continued chewing on his eggs and swallowed. "I don't know. I guess it's okay. I like his place better than ours anyway. Plus he's supposed to be getting that plasma TV soon. He told me. Do you know how cool it'll be to play Tony Hawk on that Mom?"

Sam laughed. Leave it to her son to only agree to move in because he liked Luka's television. "So you're okay with us moving in then?"

"When do we have to move?"

"I don't know. I was thinking that if you were okay with everything, we could run out, get some more cardboard boxes, and start packing some things up. Is that okay? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I think Luka's cool. Do I still have my own room?"

"Yeah, you would," Sam agreed. "He has more space than we do. We'd just have to work everything out."

"So then when would we move? Before school's out?"

Sam nodded. "I kind of want to be out of this apartment before the beginning of June so I only have to pay this month's rent. Meaning I don't want to pay for June if we're only going to be living in the apartment for the first week."

"Okay, so like, the end of May?"

"Probably. I want to get a lot of things packed before grandma comes next weekend."

"You don't have to pack my PS2 or skateboard up right now do you?" By now Alex had finished his eggs and was moving his fork back and forth over the plate.

"Nope. Don't worry," Sam smiled. "You can just take that to Luka's. You don't even have to pack it."

"Okay."

Sam stood up from the table and collected Alex's plate and her coffee cup. She set both in the sink before turning back to Alex. "You going to the skate park with Mikey and Jake today?"

"Yup. Jake already called and his dad is picking us up soon."

"Okay."

"Hey Mom?"

"Yup?"

"Are you gonna marry Luka, or something?" Alex had gotten up from the table and was leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen.

"I don't really know."

"But if you do, then he'll be my step dad, right?"

"Yeah, he would be your step dad."

"But Steve is still my real dad?"

Sam sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Steve is still your real dad."

"So then would I call Luka my dad?"

"If you wanted to, I guess you could. I don't think Luka would really mind, but you might want to ask him first, just to be polite."

"Being polite is crap."

"Hey!" Sam laughed. "Go get dressed."

"Yeah, yeah."

*                                            *                                      *                                      *

Alex had left for the skate park around ten, with the promise of being back "whenever Mom, before dinner".  Sam hadn't heard from Luka, so she had gotten in the shower. Just as she was rinsing the conditioner out of her hair, she heard the bathroom door open.

"Luka?" Sam called out, wanting to make sure it was him and not…anyone else.

"Yeah. Hey."

Sam shut off the water and rung out her curly hair. "Can you hand me that towel?"

Luka slid the door open and handed Sam the towel, which she wrapped around her body. He said nothing when she stepped out of the shower, and Sam immediately sensed something was wrong?"

"You okay?" She opened the medicine cabinet and took out her prenatal vitamins, cupped some water into her hand, and downed the pills. 

Luka shrugged and shook his head. "I got a phone call today."

Sam nodded and pulled her hair up. She left the bathroom and walked into her bedroom, and Luka followed. "Okay, you're scaring me. What's wrong?" She grabbed an old football jersey that fell almost to her knees and pulled it on, searching for a pair of her boxer shorts. 

"They need my help again back in Africa."

She sat down on the edge of the bed, tossing her damp towel in the dirty laundry basket. "Does that mean they need your help and you're going, or they need your help and you're not going?"

"I already told Charles I'd go."

Sam rested her head in her hands and nodded. "When do you leave?" She was trying, _really trying_, to stay as calm as possible and not lose it. Just when things were finally good between her and Luka, he was going to leave her. Leave her and Alex to go to a place that was dangerous, a place where he had been presumed dead, and a place where Gillian still might be. The last thought didn't bother her much. She knew that whatever Luka and Gillian had was over, and she was much more worried about Luka's safety then anything else. But Sam knew, Sam saw the stares Luka would get from other women, and she knew he was good looking. You didn't have to tell her twice. It still made her feel inadequate to be Luka's girlfriend somehow—like she didn't compare with him and his looks well enough. But dammit, this wasn't about her right now. It was about Luka, and the continent that would separate them for who knew how long.

"June tenth."

"When do you get back?"

"The first week of July. I'll be gone for about three weeks."

"Three weeks?" Sam bit her lip and nodded. "Okay."

Luka was a little taken aback at how well Sam was taking everything. He half expected and wanted her to beg him to stay. She wasn't showing very much emotion, and that scared him a little bit. "Sam…are you okay with this?"

"I don't really have a choice. You already made up your mind, so whatever I say to you right now won't change it. If you have to go, then go. I just want you to come back safely."

"I—They need good doctors there, Sam. Carter and I, we're going together. They need me there."

"And I need you here!" Sam was surprised at how much she had raised her voice to Luka. She hadn't meant to yell at him exactly—she was just frustrated with the situation. "I need you here."

Luka sat down next to her and Sam laid down, turning onto her side and placing her head in his lap. He linked his hand with her and looked down at her. She had started crying, and he had started wiping her tears away with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I don't—this is the last time I'm going to go. I told Charles that on the phone. I told him that I couldn't go for the two months he had wanted me to—that I had someone waiting for me and that I couldn't leave her for that long. He told me to bring you with me once I told him you were a nurse, saying that they needed all the help they could get, but—"

Suddenly Sam was sitting up, wiping at her eyes. "Take me with you. I'll go with you. I want to go."

"Sam, I'm not letting you go. It's too dangerous."

"If it was so dangerous you wouldn't go! I heard the rumors Luka! When I came to County, people told me you had almost died. That if Carter hadn't gone back to look for you, you wouldn't have made it. How can you sit here and go back to a place that almost killed you? I won't let you go alone. I want to go with you," Sam told him defiantly. 

"Sam—"

"You told me we were in this together now. Luka, please. I want to go with you."

"It's dangerous. The clinic in Matenda, there was always a chance it would get raided or bombed."

"Is that where we'd be going?"

"No. We'd be going to Kisangani, in the Congo. I don't think it's a good idea for you to come. Who would watch Alex?"

"I'd ask my mom, or my friend Claudia."

"Claudia?" Luka questioned. He had never heard Sam, or even Alex, talk about a Claudia.

"Alex's godmother. She was my best friend in high school. We kind of got separated for a few years after high school—she couldn't decide what she wanted to major in."

"When was the last time you heard from her?"

"About six months ago. She lives in Santa Monica with her fiancé, Bobby, who's in the Navy. Back then she was talking about moving to Chicago, because Bobby's parents live in the suburbs. I just know that if I ever needed anything, she'd be there for me. And I guess now wouldn't be a bad time to ask her if I needed to."

Luka sighed. "I don't care. I still don't think it's a good idea for you to come."

"If other women can be down there, then so can I. If this is turning into some sexist issue—"

He laughed and shook his head. "It's just that, they're most likely not pregnant."

"I'd be almost four months when we'd leave. I'd be in my second trimester down there. I won't be sick, and I won't be complaining," she pointed out.

"Nope, not until two months later when I have to start running out in the middle of the night to get you five different kinds of ice cream because you can't make up your mind which flavor you want," Luka joked, getting a light punch from Sam. "Then I'd be the one complaining."

"Haha. Funny."

"I'm not saying I don't want you to come because you're a woman. I'm saying that I don't want you to come because it is dangerous, you're pregnant, and Alex needs you. I just, let's not make a big decision about this today. And, I need you to stay healthy. God forbid if something happened to you or the baby, I don't think we have the kind of medical equipment for that kind of emergency. And even if we did, it would still be risky and most likely in short supply. I want to be careful. I don't want to risk that with you. Down there it's not County General, we can't transfer anyone that easily to get better medical care. We ration out and make use of what we have."

Sam nodded. Now that she was thinking logically about it, she understood where Luka was coming from. He was only thinking of her safety when she wished she would think of his own more.  "Okay."

He yawned and kicked off his shoes. "You want to get dinner after I wake up?"

"Who said you could sleep here?"

"Oh, okay." Luka pretended to get up, as if he was walking out of the room, but Sam laughed and grabbed his arm. He grinned and spun her around, kissing her. "Come lay down with me."

Sam nodded and agreed. She shuffled onto the bed next to Luka and got comfortable, while he turned onto his side and draped his arm across her. He was out within minutes, and soon enough, so was she.

*                                     *                                    *                               *

Reviews make me update sooner, or something like that, heh. =]


	7. Storm Warning

A/N: You guys are so good to me! Thank you all for the great reviews and wonderful feedback I've been getting. It really means so much to me and cleared any doubts about posting this story out of my head. 

**tars:** Don't worry; everything will turn out okay in the end, I promise.

**katherine Cunningham**: You'll just have to wait and see whether or not Sam goes with Luka. ;)

**NaomiP: **I appreciate your reviews and feedback so much! I just wanted to let you know that when I wrote the last chapter, I did mean to put three months instead of four months, but it was late, and I somehow made a mistake of just judging it by calendar weeks instead of the LMP. As for the previous chapter where Sam fell, I wasn't hinting at a miscarriage at all. I just sort of wanted to have the fatherly instinct take over Luka there for a second and have him a little bit concerned about her fall, even though it was only minor. Thanks again for the reviews, they're always great to read. 

**Destiny-TwoP:** *cringes* I'm sorry that Luka has to leave! But I'm glad you think my story is great! I love yours too.

**dupton:** I am updating again, so does this mean you have to review my next chapter? Hehe.

And a big shout out to everyone else who reviewed lately: imagine6, skktjj, Coffee Luv and MORT, hoeft, Kate, and everyone who has reviewed the previous chapters. 

xo; Mari

*                                     *                                    *                                     *

May 15th 

Sam opened the door to Alex's bedroom and stuck her head in. It was amazing that she hadn't stepped on or tripped over anything now—but most of his things were packed up in three large boxes waiting to be taken over to Luka's. Alex's bed, television, playstation, spring clothes and lamp were pretty much the only things unpacked. Sam's apartment was looking pretty empty these days. Whenever she happened to get a spare minute, she packed something else or taped up a new box. 

"Alex." Sam called out his name softly, and was only greeted with a sleepily grunt before Alex rolled over onto his stomach. She walked over to him and stole the pillow off of his face.

"What?" Alex asked, yawning and opening his eyes. 

"Did you want to come with me to the airport?"

"What time is it?"

"A little after eight."

"No." Alex rolled back over and Sam tossed the pillow onto his head. "Hey, cut that out Mom."

"Let's try to be in a better mood before grandma gets here, okay?"

"Whatever. Is Luka going?" 

"No, he's sleeping. He got home around six."

"Okay."

Sam shut his bedroom door and continued down the hall. She walked into her own bedroom and smiled. Luka was sprawled out underneath the sheets and appeared to be sleeping soundly. Sam wished that she could crawl back into bed with him, but her mother's flight was coming in around ten and she needed to get to the airport. 

Slipping on her sneakers, she searched the room for Luka's car keys and found them on the side of her dresser, next to his wallet. 

"Where are you going?"

Sam looked over to see Luka sitting up in her bed groggily. "Going to pick up my mother at the airport."

"Oh yeah. Right. I forgot it was Saturday. You want me to come with you?"

Sam smiled and shook her head. "It's just the airport. I think I can handle it."

"Okay. Just be careful driving."

"I will." She kneeled on the side of the bed and gave Luka a quick kiss, pulling away soon enough so they wouldn't get carried away like they usually did.

"Alex still asleep?"

"Yeah. He's a little grumpy this morning, so watch out."

Luka grinned and nodded before laying back down. "I'll get him breakfast when he gets up."

"Don't let him wake you up…" Sam felt bad. Luka had worked the night before and hadn't gotten home until almost six in the morning. He needed some sleep—not to spend the morning getting breakfast for her son. "You don't have to."

"I need to eat to."

"You need to sleep."

"I'll manage. Be careful."

Sam smiled and headed for the hall. "You said that already."

But Luka hadn't answered her, and had halfway fallen asleep again. Sam planted a gentle kiss on his forehead and headed for the front door, where she quickly made her way to the parking garage. 

She hated driving around Chicago—let alone in Luka's week old brand new SUV. He had traded in his Lexus for a black SUV, the brand of which she couldn't remember right now. Maybe it was a manly thing, since most of the male doctors at County drove them, but it didn't appeal to Sam as she nervously approached it. She hadn't had a car of her own in over a year, and hadn't driven much since then. 

Most of her fears were calmed once she disabled the alarm of the SUV and got into the driver's seat, and after adjusting the mirrors, everything came back to her naturally. She backed out of the parking space, and quickly sped off towards the airport.

*                                            *                                    *                                        *

Sam waited at the security checkpoint and glanced at the arrivals and departures screen impatiently. According to the line up, her mother's flight had landed at O'Hare about twenty minutes ago from Newark. She wasn't nervous—Sam just strongly disliked airports. She was a terrible flier, ever since she was a child, and anything and everything made her a little leery. 

Okay, so who was she kidding exactly? She was _nervous_. Sam hadn't seen her mother in almost two years, and wasn't entirely sure what to expect. They hadn't really left on good terms the last time. They had gotten into a huge argument over her mother's current boyfriend, Bruce, at Alex's seventh birthday party. Sam didn't like the sixty year old advertising executive from the start, just because she believed he was an arrogant asshole by the way he had taken to snubbing everyone, including Sam, just because he had found out that Sam had given birth to Alex at sixteen. From there, things had just gotten out of hand, and Alex's birthday party had **almost** been ruined because of it. A year went by, and Sam had received an invitation to her mother and Bruce's wedding, but Sam declined to attend because she was in the process of moving from New York City to Memphis. 

Sam sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Just thinking about her mother now brought back a lot of bad memories from her past—some things that she just didn't want to relive right now. Her mother's second marriage only reminded Sam of her father, Michael, who had divorced her mother when Sam was only eight years old. He had moved to Seattle and remarried when she was ten, but Sam hadn't heard much from him over the years. He had only seen Alex once, and that was at her high school graduation. Alex had been only ten months old. Shortly after her twentieth birthday, Michael Taggart died of a heart attack. 

_"Sammy!"_

Sam spun around and waved. A tall, slim woman of forty-eight, Lynne Brampton smiled and waved at her only daughter, tucking a strand of her medium length blonde hair behind her ear. She adjusted the single carry on bag over her shoulder and passed through the crowd of people, embracing Sam in a tight hug.

"You look great!" she exclaimed. "How are you?"

Sam smiled. "I'm good. How was the flight?"

"Decent. Crowded, even in first class. I have a few drinks in me, so I think it's safe to say I'm up for anything right now." Lynne squeezed her daughter's hand as they passed through the airport and headed straight for the parking deck. There was no need to make a trip to baggage claim, seeing as Lynne had packed most of her things in the duffel bag she was carrying with her. "I can't get over how great you look honey."

"Thanks."

"Did you drive here? I thought you didn't have a car?"

"I don't. I borrowed my boyfr—Luka's."

Lynne eyed Sam curiously. "Luka? As in your boyfriend, Luka? Alex said something to me on the phone about a Luka."

"Oh. Yeah."

"That's wonderful! So who is this Luka? Tell me all about him? How long have you been together? Is he good looking? What does he do? Do you two live together?"

Sam laughed. "Calm down, Mom. Let's just get to the car first."

They reached Luka's SUV within minutes, and Sam unlocked the doors, much to Lynne's amusement. "So this Luka then, I'm assuming he's pretty well off from the looks of his car. What does he do?"

Sam started the engine and backed out of the parking spot. "He's a doctor. Actually, he's an attending at County General, which is where I work. He works in the ER, and that's pretty much how we met. Alex actually was friends with him before I was," she laughed.

"That sounds like my grandson. Still looking out for his Mom and trying to set her up on dates."

"Please, he's only be doing it since he was like six years old."

"So tell me more about him," Lynne insisted as they drove along. "How old is he?"

"He'll be thirty-seven in September."

"Thirty-seven?" Lynne laughed. "Sam, he's almost twelve years older than you!"

"So what? He makes me happy, and he loves Alex. You should see them together. They get along great."

Lynne sighed and stared out the window. "I still think that's a little too old for you. How long have you been together?"

"We've been on and off for awhile. And don't lecture me on how my boyfriend's too old for me, when your own husband is twelve years older than you," Sam replied through gritted teeth. It hadn't even been a full twenty minutes since her mother had gotten off the plane, and already she was starting to become annoying.

"Never mind about your step father. Has Luka been married before?"

"No, he hasn't," Sam told her. "Why are you making this such a big deal?"

"I'm not, sweetheart. I just, I want to know more about this man who you finally have decided to settle down with. It's not every day I get to meet a boyfriend of yours. Luka, that sounds like a foreign name. Where is he from?"

"He's Croatian."

"Really? That's somewhere near Romania, right?"

"Try right next door to Hungary, Mom."

"Oh, your grandmother would love that! You know, it was just the other day she was asking about you…"

Sam sighed, only half listening. Her mother would rattle on for the rest of the drive, and Sam had no choice but to listen to her. Somehow, as horrible as it sounded, she was glad that Lynne was only staying for three days—in a hotel.

*                                          *                                     *                                        *

Sam unlocked her apartment door. "Hopefully Alex and Luka still aren't sleeping."

"So you two _have_ been sleeping together?"

"Mom!" Sam rolled her eyes and placed Luka's car keys on the table. "God."

"I'm just worried about you, honey," Lynne laughed.

There were footsteps through the kitchen, and then Alex appeared in the living room. "Grandma! Hey!" He ran towards Lynne and she hugged him tightly. 

"You've gotten so big! You make me feel old."

"You're not old, Grandma." Alex rolled his eyes and grinned at Sam, who smiled back.

"Hey Alex, where's Luka?"

"He got paged by the ER. There was a huge accident, or something. Something that started with an M."

"MVA?" Sam corrected him. She let out a long sigh and sat down on the couch. The truth was, she was disappointed. She had wanted Luka to be here, to meet her mother, to have lunch. 

"Hey Mom, I'm hungry. What's for lunch?"

"I'll take care of it, sweetie. I'm sure your Mom has some deli meat lying around here somewhere."

"Cool." Alex took off for the kitchen, but Lynne held Sam back from following.

"I wanted to give this to you. It's sort of an early birthday present. Come over here and open it."

Sam took the wrapped cardboard box from Lynne's hands and opened it carefully, piling the paper onto the couch cushion next to her. "Do I get a hint or something?"

"Just open it," Lynne encouraged.

"Okay." Sam pulled a large sized photo album out of the box. The red satin cover had her full name, Samantha Marie Taggart, scripted onto it in black calligraphy. Sam opened it, and thumbed through the pages. It was a memory book of sorts—ranging from the day Sam had been born, through her early childhood, and teenage years. There were pictures of her and Steve before she had gotten pregnant, and then pictures of Sam when she was pregnant with Alex. It chronicled almost every year of Sam's life—and later on, Alex's. The last page held the most recent pictures of Sam and Alex that Lynne could get her hands on.

"It took me almost six months to put that whole thing together. What do you think?"

"I don't—wow. I don't know what to say. Thanks," Sam replied. "I'm sure Alex will appreciate it too."

"But what do you really think of it?"

Sam sighed. She didn't know how to tell her mother what she was about to without insulting her. "It's just that there were a lot of not so great memories over those years, Mom."

"I know, sweetheart. That's why I tried to put together all the good memories for you to hold onto and cherish. I thought that you'd appreciate that."

"I do appreciate it. Thank you." Sam nodded and set the album on the coffee table. "So um, I think Alex is getting hungry in there."

"Oh. Right," Lynne agreed. "Well, I don't want to keep him waiting. How does soup and sandwiches sound?"

"Sounds great," Sam agreed. 

The photo album still remained behind on the coffee table, and before heading into the kitchen, Sam stole a final glance back at it. She was afraid that if she opened it one more time, her past would hurl itself at her full force and suffocate her. At least, that's what it felt like at the current moment.

_"Sam, what kind of sandwich do you want?"_

*                                         *                                       *                                     *

8:30 PM

Sam didn't think she had ever cried so hard since god, she couldn't even remember. And it was all because of some stupid little memory book filled with pictures and sentences that her mother had written in, reminding Sam of things she had long wanted to forget. _Things that she had convinced herself she had gotten over a long time ago._

It had started storming around seven—wind just at first, then a little bit of rain and some hail. Then it had started thundering around eight, and Sam stretched out on her bed motionless, just listening to the rain pelt her apartment noisily and the wind whip at the screens of her windows. Her hand rested softly on her abdomen in the dim bedroom, almost as if she was planning on protecting her and Luka's baby from any of the pain she was going through at the current moment. 

Sam had dropped Lynne off at her hotel room around four thirty. Lynne promised to phone ahead and take them all—Luka included, out to dinner tomorrow night, as she was planning on seeing Sam's great aunt Agnes earlier in the day. It was fine with Sam, and she could tell how eager her mother was to meet Luka. It didn't bother her. She'd have to meet him sooner or later.

Luka had called Sam around five and left a message on her machine, apologizing for just taking off and saying that he had gotten tied up in the ER; that Kerry wouldn't let him go home until Chen and Carter came on for their shifts. He had left a second message around six, wondering where she was and if she was okay. By that time, Sam was lying on the couch, staring at the album. She didn't pick up. The third message was left at seven thirty. He wanted to know if again, she was okay, and if the power had gone out at her apartment because of the storm. He also told her that he'd be leaving County around eight. Sam had moved into her bedroom once she checked on Alex, who was playing video games.

Sam didn't know what was going on with her. She didn't think seeing pictures of supposedly happy times would upset her so much, but again—she was tired, stressed out, and her hormones were crazy right now. In reality, it had been a long time she since she faced up to her past, and to put it in terms Alex would use, it sucked.

The album had long been shut and pushed to the side of her double bed, but the tissues remained scattered around her, including the one Sam was still clutching in her hand. She was feeling insecure and doubting herself, her relationship with Luka, the baby, and more importantly, her parenting skills towards Alex.

She wiped at her eyes and half sat up, making an attempt to collect the tissues and toss them in the trash.

"Mom?"

Sam glanced over at the doorway and saw Alex's concerned face staring back at her. "Hey buddy. What's up?"

"What's wrong?" He walked in and closed her bedroom door behind him as a loud thunderclap shook the building and dimmed the one small lamp she had on. They were quickly plunged into darkness, and Sam saw Alex jump a little bit.

She patted the space next to her and Alex crawled onto the bed, stretching out onto his stomach and stealing one of the pillows to rest his chin on. "I'm just thinking."

"That's crap. You're crying. Normal people don't cry when they think," Alex pointed out like a true smart ass.

"Hey, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not the most normal mother around here," Sam laughed, holding back a sniffle.

"I think you're a great mom."

Sam smiled and ruffled Alex's dirty blonde hair. "Really? Thanks."

"Yeah. You're the coolest mom around. All my friends say so. I get away with _everything_ with you."

"Not everything," she pointed out. "But close enough."

"But seriously, Mikey's mom doesn't play Tony Hawk with him like you do. She won't pick him up from school if he's faking sick and take him to work with her like you took me to the ER that day. That was so cool. You're cool, Mom."

Sam smiled and gave Alex a wet kiss on the cheek, which he quickly wiped away, laughing.

"Yuck Mom, save that for Luka!"

"Hey!" Sam giggled. She rolled over onto her stomach and stretched out next to him. 

"Jake's mom told him that you should have waited longer to have me, and that you should have been married."

"Just because I had you when I was sixteen, doesn't mean I don't love you or can't take care of you just like Jake's mom can. Plus, I think she needs to mind her own business and lay off the McDonald's before summer rolls around if she wants to get those perfect tan lines that she brags about."

This had Alex rolling in laughter. "That's a good one."

"Yeah, I guess it was. Hey, I uhm, I have something I've been meaning to tell you. It's kind of a big deal, so don't say anything to grandma yet, okay?"

"Deal." Alex rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. "Spill."

Luka paused, his hand on Sam's bedroom door. He had just literally run in the door, soaking wet, with his clothes and hair plastered to his forehead. He had been about to go in and say hello and let them know he was back finally, but Luka had a feeling that whatever Sam was about to tell Alex, it involved their baby. Even though he felt a little uneasy about eavesdropping, it was better than breaking up the moment that Sam and Alex were about to share.

"Well uh, I don't really know how to tell you this…but in about eight months you're going to be a big brother."

Alex sat up and stared at her. "You're having a baby?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"So is that why we're moving in with Luka?"

"No, that's not the whole reason. I'm moving in with Luka…because—" Sam hesitated to get the right words out. "Because I love him, too."

Luka smiled at this, resting his head against the doorway.

Alex made a face. "That's mushy."

"What, I thought you liked details about people's personal lives?" she laughed. 

"I do. But you and Luka—Mom, I don't even want to think about that!"

"Okay, I get it. So what, are you happy, sad, okay with this?"

"I think it's kind of…weird."

"What do you mean?"

"Like for so long it was just me and you. Always, all the time. Dad tried to come back a few times, but he never stayed. And then Luka came, and now there's gonna be a baby. I dunno. It's weird."

"Okay, I get what you're saying," Sam answered. "But just because there's going to be a new baby **doesn't** mean I won't have time for you anymore, got it? I'll always have Alex time, no matter what time it is."

"And that's separate from Luka time and the new baby time?"

"Always. And then there will be times when we'll all hang out together," she added. "So that would be…Sam, Alex, Luka, and the baby time."

By now Luka was trying not to laugh and give away his position outside the door, but he was finding the conversation they were having sweet and funny in a way.

"So…like family time?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Exactly."

"Cool." Alex yawned and slowly crawled off the bed. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Okay." Sam gave Alex a hug and smiled at him. "Night. You want me to come and tuck you in?"

"Nah. I've got it. Don't cry anymore Mom. I love you."

"I love you too."

Luka quickly ran back down the hall and into the living room before Alex came out of Sam's room. Why had Sam been crying? Had it been because of him—because he had run off to work? Or was she upset about his upcoming return to Africa?

When he was sure he had heard Alex's bedroom door close, Luka walked back down the hall and slowly opened Sam's bedroom door. She was now lying on her side with her arm draped over side.

"Hey," he greeted her softly. "I'm sorry I'm so late."

"It's okay." She smiled and sat up. "I missed you though."

"I missed you too." Luka sat down on the bed and wrapped his arms around Sam protectively, kissing her softly. "Everything go okay with your mom?"

"Yeah, I guess. She gave me that, which had me crying for the past two hours, and she's planning on taking us out to dinner or something tomorrow. I told her about you."

"And?"

"She was a little weird about the age difference."

"Oh." Luka's face fell and Sam shrugged.

"It's okay. I don't care. I'm happy with you, I love you, that's all that matters."

"That's good," Luka laughed. He glanced over at the photo album. "A lot of memories in there?"

"Yeah. It just brought some things back that I didn't really want to deal with."

"I know the feeling." He kicked off his shoes and quickly stripped off his shirt. "It's warm in here. How long has the power been out?"

"I don't know. I guess about fifteen or twenty minutes." Sam kissed Luka's bare shoulder. They then stretched out next to each other, and Sam rested up against him. "I told Alex about the baby."

"Yeah? How'd he take it?"

"Pretty well. I think he's excited."

"That's good." Luka grinned at her in the dark and rested his forehead against hers. "I uh, do you remember when I said…ah—" He stopped and Sam glanced up at him, bringing their fingers together. "When I said that I wanted to have a talk with you, about everything, about my past?"

"Yeah," Sam nodded in agreement.

"That's what the photo album reminded me of. I can't have you living with me, and us planning for this baby, and us maybe eventually settling down together, without telling you."

"Telling me what?"

"Sam, you have to promise that you'll listen. Listen until I've finished."

She nodded, nuzzling her cheek against Luka some more. "Okay."

"I don't want to put it off anymore. Like I said before, I've spent too much time wasting time. I want you to know."

Sam nodded her head for what seemed like the hundredth time that day and pulled the comforter over herself, snuggling up against Luka while his arm wrapped around her. His other hand was resting underneath the comforter, against her stomach, where her tee shirt had ridden up slightly. 

"A long time ago, close to fourteen years ago now, I was once married and had two children."

At that moment, Sam's power came back on, and although the lamp remained off, her television turned on, the low volume of the news broadcast passing through the room.

"It seems as if this system of storms will be out of the surrounding area by midnight tonight, and tomorrow we're well on our way with clear skies and sunshine across Chicago…"

*                                         *                                             *                                            *

Reviews are my motivation. =]

Just another slight A/N: You'll find out about Sam's cloudy past in the upcoming chapters, and remember, up until this point, Luka hadn't told her about his past. And yes, Luka will meet Sam's mother, Lynne, in the next chapter.


	8. Heavy Conversation

The reviews have been much appreciated! Thanks so much. :o) This chapter gives you a little more background on Sam's mother, and even though it's sort of a filler (maybe?), I hope you all enjoy it. A longer chapter will follow this one, and it'll have some lighter moments to coincide with the heavier ones. Enjoy and leave me a review!

*                                           *                                         *                                         *

May 16th 

5 PM

"Ready to go?"

Sam jumped slightly as Luka came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck. "Yeah. In a sec." She finished putting in her earrings and quickly walked out of the bathroom, smoothing down her short, strappy black dress before picking up Luka's keys and tossing them to him. "Here."

"Thanks." Luka grinned. "You look…wow. Really great."

Sam blushed a little and smiled. "Thanks." She watched Luka out of the corner of her eye for a moment and thought back briefly on everything he had told her about his past the night before. At first, she had been a little angry. A relationship was supposed to be built on trust, and without trusting the person you were with, then there couldn't **be **a relationship. It wasn't that they didn't trust each other. Sam trusted Luka, but…

It had come as a major shock to find out that Luka had once been married with two children. After the storm ended, Luka broke down and told her everything, everything about his past, everything that had happened to him before he had met her. And she had just laid there in his arms, comforting and reassuring him when he needed her to. Sam didn't want to admit it to anyone, but she **was** having a hard time accepting everything. Luka's hardships had made her own look like a complete picnic, and she didn't even know if her own past should be brought up. It would only be fair, but right now, she still needed time to cope in her own way with what he had told her.

It wasn't that she was angry or jealous that someone before her had loved Luka. It was only natural. Before Luka, Sam also had been with other people, but never anything so serious as what her and Luka's relationship was heading towards.  

When Luka had fallen asleep, Sam started to wonder what his family had once looked like. Did Danijela have the type of beauty that a person had to be born with? Did she and Luka have the kind of relationship that couples always strived for, but few were lucky to achieve? What about his children—was Jasna a rosy cheeked three year old who questioned everything? Had Marko been the spitting image of Luka himself?

What would their own baby look like? Would their relationship ever become--

"You okay?"

Luka's voice shook Sam out of her thoughts and she managed to put together a fake, but convincing smile. "Yeah."

"Okay. Let's go."

*                                             *                                      *                                        *

The drive to the restaurant in uptown Chicago was silent for the most part. Luka had attempted to get Sam to talk about anything in between drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and switching the radio stations back and forth, but she hadn't said much of anything, and that worried him.

He was about halfway to the parking lot when he really started thinking about everything. Had something that he had ended up telling Sam upset her in some way, enough so that she wouldn't want to talk to him about it? Luka realized that it probably had something to do with either his family, or his experiences in Africa. Either way, after dinner he was planning on getting it out of her. The silence had gone on enough. 

Luka pulled his SUV into a space towards the side of the restaurant, tilting his head to look at Sam before shutting off the engine. However, she had already gotten out of the truck and was standing on the sidewalk, arms crossed over her chest and staring at the ground.

He pocketed his keys and walked over to her, and together they walked side by side with no source of physical contact towards the entrance.

"You feeling all right?"

"I have a headache." They reached the door and Luka held the door open for her, allowing Sam to slip inside before himself.

"Are you okay with everything I told you last night?"

Sam nodded, approaching the waiter at the podium. "Two for the Brampton party." She glanced back up at Luka and crossed her arms over her chest. "It's a lot to take in at one time, but I'm okay with everything. I guess."

"Good, okay. Do you want to…talk some more about it later?"

"There's not really much to talk about," she replied tiredly. "Look, I just want to get through this dinner and get home so I can sleep. If you really want to talk then, we can."

Luka nodded, not wanting to push the subject any further. He could tell that Sam was easily getting pissed off right now—whether or not it totally involved him, he couldn't be sure. "Sure."

The maitre'd led Sam and Luka towards a table in the back corner of the restaurant, where Lynne was waiting. However, she hadn't seem to realize them heading towards her and was quickly placing what appeared to be money onto the table and collecting her purse over her shoulder. 

"Uh, Mom? Where are you going?" Sam questioned her. She and Luka had just reached the table when Lynne was about to make her hasty exit. "We had a dinner date, remember?"

"Oh sweetie, you're late! I'm sorry, I meant to tell you earlier today, but Bruce and I—well we're about to head out on a cruise on Tuesday and he called, telling me that he switched the reservations a day ahead of time, so we'd be spending a full day in Miami before the ship leaves the port," Lynne babbled. "I left a message on your answering machine! I had to switch the reservations from five to four because my flight leaves in two hours. I've been waiting here for you two for over an hour."

"What? You're leaving tonight?"

"I'm so sorry honey, but I can't help it. Bruce and I had these reservations arranged almost a full year in advance—we just want to head out to Miami a day early. I promise I'll make it up to you. Oh, and you must be Luka! It's wonderful to finally meet you!" Lynne smiled broadly up at him. "I'm sorry I can't stay any longer for more formal introductions."

"You too," Luka replied softly. He looked over at Sam and winced. He could tell by the look on her face that she was very angry—and getting angrier by the second. 

"So you're leaving, now? After Luka and I came all the way down here to meet **you**, who insisted on taking **us** out to dinner?" Sam rubbed her temples and blinked at her mother. She couldn't believe this, but what else did she expect? It was so like her mother to pull a stunt like this. Wanting to come visit for the longest time, and then getting up and leaving anytime the slightest thing came up, disappointing Alex in the long run. Although she never liked to admit it, even Sam was disappointed in her own mother. 

"Samantha, don't raise your voice. You'll make a scene." Lynne's eyes darted around nervously and she smiled at the few patrons who had glanced up when Sam had raised her voice.

"Fine. Go."

"Oh don't be mad Sam, you know I can't help these things," Lynne smiled sadly. She hugged Sam tightly and kissed her cheek before pulling away. "I promise I'll come down sometime soon, hmm? It's just that something came up, but we've had fun, haven't we?"

"Sure Mom," Sam replied bitterly. She glanced up at Luka, who had his hands tucked in his pockets. He gave her a small but apologetic smile.

"I had a car arranged to pick me up at my hotel at six, so I better get back there. I'll call. Give Alex a kiss for me."

"Yeah." 

"Nice to meet you, Luka." Lynne gave them both a final smile before hurrying out of the crowded restaurant towards the entrance.

Luka cleared his throat and gave Sam another smile. "Well, the good thing is we can still have food," he joked.

"Let's just go back to my place, okay?" The tone of her voice was so final that Luka knew that no matter what he could say to Sam, he couldn't make her feel any better right now.

"Okay. Sure." Sam led the way to the parking lot, and it wasn't until they had reached the front door that Sam leaned up against Luka and rested her head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head before helping her into his SUV.

*                                             *                                           *                                       *

"Does she do this a lot?"

"Hmm?" Sam lifted her head off the pillow. She had been lying down on her bed ever since they had gotten home twenty minutes before. She hadn't even bothered to take her dress off yet—just her earrings and shoes.

Luka sat down on the edge of the bed and started taking off his own shoes. "Taking off like that? Does your mom show up and then take off?"

Sam nodded slowly. "Ever since I was eight years old—when my parents had gotten divorced. My dad took off for Seattle and my mom kept me in New Jersey. She ended up with full custody anyway. Every time she couldn't handle something, or in her own terms, when something "came up", she'd take off for days, weeks, even a month one time."

"Who stayed with you, then?"

"Friends of my mom's, aunts, uncles, cousins…usually my grandparents took me in until she came back though."

"Where did she go?" Luka laid down next to Sam on his back and looked up at the ceiling before turning his head to the side to face her.

"Depends. A boyfriend's house, to the bar, to her dealer, to rehab. My mom had a hard time dealing with the divorce, and she turned to cheap beer and cocaine to get her through it. She used to tell me that she was sorry all the time, but that she couldn't help these things." Sam rolled her eyes and laughed slightly. "But you know what? I still loved her. I used to make a list of everything that happened to me when she would go away and tell her everything the minute she walked in the door. I'd give her these drawings and she'd be so happy to see me. She'd tell me she missed me so much, that she'd never go away again. Then the next month, it would happen all over again."

"When did it stop?"

"She had a pretty bad overdose on cocaine when I was thirteen. She almost died. Her heart stopped in the emergency room twice. They kept having to shock her…and god, I couldn't move. My grandmother kept trying to pull me away from the trauma room but I wouldn't go, I wouldn't leave her."

"I'm sorry." Luka reached his hand up and brushed a strand of hair off of Sam's face. "Did she get better after that?"

"Somewhat. She went to rehab for three months in the fall of '92. She was gone for the first semester of my freshman year in high school. She came home two weeks before Christmas and it was like she had never left, except this time, she was finally better. She'd stick around, and she even got a job. We got a new apartment in the spring of '93, a nice one."

"And then?"

"Then…I met Steve in June of '93. Some of our friends at the time introduced us. He was a major pothead, and I guess I just went with the crowd. We drank, we smoked, we had sex…and then I got pregnant sometime, I guess around November of '93. Or, I didn't notice I was pregnant until then. I was fifteen years old, with a fifteen-year-old boyfriend who was more irresponsible then my own mother was. We didn't even have jobs. But Steve told me it was okay, that we would make it because we'd be a family. I know it sounds pretty delusional, but we were young, stupid, and naïve. We broke up about a month after Alex was born."

"And now he just comes around sometimes when he feels like it?"

Sam nodded. "About once a year. It's his way of being a father figure to Alex or something and making up for lost time."

"Some father," Luka muttered. "And your mom? She was supportive?"

"Not at first. She and Steve both tried to get me to have an abortion, twice. Two separate appointments, a week apart from each other. I didn't leave the waiting room for either one. They called my name…and I ran out the door," Sam said softly. "But then the farther along I became, the more she realized that she wouldn't want to shut her future grandson out. It wasn't until Alex was a year old that I really started to worry about her. She had started drinking again, and before long she pretty much turned into an alcoholic. It was at my graduation party that she really lost it…and my grandparents sent her to rehab again."

"How long has your mom been clean? And what about your dad?"

Sam thought for a minute. "From cocaine, about eleven years. From alcohol, four. Bruce, her husband now, was her AA sponsor. That's how they met, and I guess they fell in love or something and eventually got married. And my dad died of a heart attack when I was twenty."  
  


"You don't like him?"

"Who? My dad?"

"Bruce."

"Oh. He's okay. He kind of has a complete "holier-than-thou" attitude and that's what bothers me the most."

Luka laughed and smiled. "Kind of like Pratt."

"Yeah, basically. Except Pratt is a little nicer about it," Sam smiled.

Luka kissed Sam's bare shoulder softly. "I'm glad you told me this. I wish you hadn't waited so long."

"Oh yeah, sure." Sam laughed and brushed a piece of hair off of Luka's forehead. "That first trauma we worked on, I just had this incredible urge to tell you that my mother was a coke addict."

"Now I know where Alex gets it from."

"The smart ass routine?"

"Yeah," he laughed. "He learned from the best." When Sam lightly punched his shoulder, he flipped her onto her back and gently laid on top of her. "Okay, I take it back."

Sam wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled. "You better." She started playing with the hair on the base of his neck. "I'm sorry that I was so…distant before? I guess if that's the word I'm looking for. Yeah."

"It's okay. I probably shouldn't have just sprung everything on you last night. It was late," Luka said, kissing her forehead. 

"Do you…miss them?" When Luka didn't respond right away, Sam sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked—"

"No, it's fine," Luka cut her off. "I can't place… their faces are blurry a lot of the time, because it's been so long. Only in my mind, though. I have pictures in an album somewhere but I don't like to look at them. I haven't really in a long time. But I do miss them, but like I said, it's been a long time."

Sam nodded. Maybe it was about time they got off of the depressing topics and changed it to something else. "I think I really need to get out of this dress and into the shower."

"There are easier ways to do that. We wouldn't even have to get up," Luka winked. He kissed her deeply and she reciprocated before pulling away.

"As much as that sounds really great right now, I need that shower and Alex is getting home soon." Luka rolled off of Sam and let her stand up off of the bed.

"True. What time are you on tomorrow?"

"Eight to eight, you?"

"Not on," Luka smirked. "Would it be okay if I picked Alex up from school and we hung out until you got home? We could catch a movie, or go to that skate park he's always talking about and get a pizza."

Sam grabbed her plaid pajama bottoms and a black tank top out of her dresser drawer, grinning. "Sure. I think he'd like that."

"This way he won't have to hang out at the lounge until you get off, and it'll give me and him more time to I guess get to know each other."

"Great!" Sam shouted over the noise of the bathroom fan. "I'll be out in a sec. Come join me if you want."

Luka didn't even have to think twice, because that was an offer he was more than willing to accept.

*                                               *                                         *                                         *

Reviews are wonderful! =]

Coming up: Will Sam follow Luka to Africa? 


	9. Old Friends, New Lovers

Thanks for all the reviews everyone, and I promise things will start picking up. Africa's coming up in the next few chapters. So will a future return from Steve. 

And to **Laura**, thanks for pointing that out about Steve! I appreciate it. 

May 21st

"Mooooo-oooooo-ooooom. How much longer? Can we just go already?"

Sam shot a glare at her son, who had just given off the most annoying whine in the history of his nine year old life. "If you want to make it to see your tenth birthday, zip it."

"But—"

"Alex! Now!" 

"This sucks!" He loudly kicked the leg of Sam's chair. "Why are we here in the first place? That line is so long!"

"Because-I-have-to-get-a-passport!" Sam hissed at him through her gritted teeth, all in once jumbled sentence. "I really don't want to be here much more than you do, but tough! So just suck it up like I am, let me finish filling out this form, and we'll be out of here in hopefully another hour, okay? I'm sorry."

"Where are you going **anyway**?" he started to whine, crossing his arms roughly over his chest. "You're going on some stupid vacation with Luka and leaving me home, aren't you?"

"Somewhere. Now let me finish these forms." 

Sam sighed, continuing to write down the important information on her passport application form. Was this the best way to spend a Friday afternoon at three o'clock? Definitely not, and Alex was certainly sulking about it. She set the form aside, with a menacing glare from Alex, to pull out all her documentation to present—her birth certificate, her driver's license, the pictures she was using for the passport itself, the check she had written out for the cost of the passport, and her social security number. "Come on, I need to bring this up now."

"No."

"_Move it, Alex,_" Sam instructed, hands on her hips. "We're almost done."

"This is a really sucky way to spend a Friday, you know that?" Alex argued as he followed Sam up to the clerk's window. "This sucks."

"Shh."

"What time does Luka get off?"

"He should be off right now. We'll see him later tonight."

"Good, because I'm telling him how crappy you've treated me today!" Alex whispered loudly at her.

"Fine," Sam replied. "Go sit over there then. On that bench. Do not move. Got it?"

"Whatever."

"Don't move."

"I heard you the first time!"

The woman clerk smiled warmly up at Alex as she checked all of Sam's information and took her application form. "Is that your son?"

"Yeah. Only on good days, though," Sam laughed.

"I know what you mean. I have four of my own. You look so young though! How do you do it?"

"Sometimes I really don't know."

The clerk gave her a quick, understanding smile before turning back to the paperwork. "Okay, so you want an expedited passport then, correct?"

"Uh, yeah. I need to have in before I leave in about three weeks."

"For?"

"Africa. The Congo."

Sam tossed her apartment key into the basket strategically placed on the counter while checking on the frozen pizza in the oven. It was five-thirty, and Luka had called from his cell phone saying he had just left his apartment and was about ten minutes away. Hopefully, Alex would get into bed early and the rest of the evening would go…pretty well. 

Tonight she would finally get a chance to talk to Luka about Africa again. Just because she had applied for her passport didn't automatically mean everything was settled, but to be on the safe side, she had it rushed and learned that she would be receiving it in about a two-week period. Sam would have never considered something like this before, but even though she knew Luka could take care of himself, she would feel better if she were there with him. This way, she wouldn't have to worry every minute of the day about what he was doing or whether or not he was safe. Instead, she would be worrying about Alex.

Sam didn't want to leave Alex behind, and who was taking care of him for those three weeks was still up in the air. If she absolutely had to, she'd ask her mother to take care of Alex, but she didn't want him flying by himself to New Jersey from Chicago, and Sam was already angry enough at the stunt her mother had pulled the weekend before at the restaurant. If she and Luka decided for her to go, she'd have to do some serious thinking about someone to take care of him. She'd miss him like crazy, too.

Regardless of whatever doubts Luka had about her going, Sam knew that in the end, she would probably win out and travel with him and Carter to the Congo. Yes, she hated flying, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she'd sleep through most of the flight, and get a good window seat so she wouldn't panic about flying over water. Or, she could end up squished between Luka and Carter on the plane. It wouldn't be so bad—at least she'd have two good shoulders to sleep on.

"Mom, what are you smiling about?" Alex grinned at her before picking out a can of soda from the refrigerator. "Cause Luka's coming over?"

"Maybe."

"You like him way too much," he laughed, popping the top on the can and tossing it into the trash. He sipped the soda and sat down at the table, staring at her. "So when are we moving?"

"Next weekend."

"Does this mean I'll have to take the bus next year instead of carpooling with Mikey?"

Sam grabbed the oven mitts out of the drawer and pulled the pizza out of the oven. She set it on the wooden carving board so it could cool off. "I don't know. We'll figure that out in August."

"So I have to take the bus?"

"I don't know. Probably. Luka lives about fifteen minutes away from Mikey's house."

"Ugh, I hate the bus! The bus sucks!"

She rolled her eyes as the cordless phone started ringing. "I'm sorry. I said we'll figure it out at the end of the summer."

"This weekend is really starting to suck," Alex whined. 

Sam grabbed the phone and jogged out with it into the living room of her apartment, Alex on her heels. "Hello?"

_"Sam? Hey…it's Claudia!'_

"Claudia? Hey, oh my god! How are you? I haven't heard from you in god, a few months." After all the time they had spent apart, Sam was relieved to hear her old best friend's voice. The last time she had talked to her was months ago, and since then they had really drifted apart. She hadn't visited for over a year.

_"Yeah, I know. I've been meaning to call, but I've been really busy. I moved about two months ago out of Santa Monica to Willowbrook with Bobby. We have an apartment about ten minutes away from his parents in Joliet. We've been trying to get settled, and Bobby's been on leave for a while because he ended up having to have surgery on his shoulder and back. I've been trying to get a job too, but it's been really hectic. I called your mom, and she gave me your number here. How is everything with you?"_

Sam was practically ecstatic to hear that Claudia lived only twenty minutes away from her own apartment. "Everything's pretty good."

_"How's Alex? I can't wait to see you guys!"_

"He's great. Being sort of a pain in the ass right now, but that's Alex for you." Sam heard Claudia laugh on the other end of the line. 

_"He wouldn't be Alex if he wasn't a pain in the ass sometimes. Anything new?"_

"I have a few things to tell you, but I'll save them for when we can meet up."

_"Sounds good. So, have you met anyone? Are there any cute doctors at County?"_

Sam heard the key turn in the lock and the front door open. Luka walked in, dropped his keys on the coffee table, and smiled at her. "They're not too bad on the eyes. But yeah, there are some cute ones. And yeah, I have met someone. He's…really great." She felt Luka's eyes on her and turned around to kiss him on the cheek. 

_"Finally! I'm happy that you met someone. What does he do?"_

"He's a doctor at County."

_"How old is he?"_

Sam laughed. "He's going to be thirty-seven."

_"Thirty-seven!"_

Alex came in between Sam and Luka and started tugging on Sam's shirt. "Mom! Is that Aunt Claudia? Lemme talk to her!"

"Clauds, Alex wants to talk to you. Hold on a sec."

_"Okay."_

Sam handed the phone to Alex, who immediately ran out of the living room and into his bedroom, closing the door behind him. "Hey, sorry about that."

"That's okay. Who was on the phone?" Luka pulled Sam in for a quick hug and kiss before following her into the kitchen.

"My old best friend Claudia. I think I told you about her?" Sam made her way over to the cooled pizza and started cutting it with the pizza slicer.

"Yeah, I think you mentioned something." Luka grabbed a soda out of the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table with it. 

"She moved from Santa Monica to the suburbs about two months ago with her boyfriend. We met in middle school and she was there for me from then on and all through high school, when I was with Steve and when I was pregnant with Alex. She's Alex's godmother. We'll probably meet up sometime soon, but Alex kind of stole the phone away from me."

"He called me in work today."

Sam spun around and rested her hand on her hip. "What?"

Luka smirked, amused. "Yeah. He said something about you dragging him to get your passport and how he was having, in his words, a "sucky" weekend because of it and for me to come here and cheer you up as soon as I could."

"I can't believe he did that! Did he bother you in work? Seriously, I've been meaning to have a talk to him. He's being really stubborn lately and I don't know if it's just because he's moody or an after effect of Steve leaving. I'm really sorry," she apologized. "I'll tell him not to call again."

"No, it's okay," Luka grinned. "It was pretty slow today anyway. So uh, you got a passport?"

Sam looked down at the floor and nodded. "Just in case."

"Oh. Yeah. That was a good thing to do, so you wouldn't have to deal with all that last minute, if you had to get it then."

"Yeah."

"So, do you want to still come with—"

"Mom! Aunt Claudia wants to talk to you again!"

"Sorry," Sam apologized again. "Hold that thought, okay?"

"Sure. We'll just talk about it later. It's not a big deal," Luka smiled, ruffling Alex's hair as he walked into the kitchen. Once Sam left the room, he handed Alex a slice of pizza before taking one for himself. "So what can we do to make this weekend better?"

"Make my mom stop being a jerk," Alex replied.

Luka laughed again. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that."

Review!

Slight A/N on the last chapter: According to episode 10.21, "Midnight", Steve was twenty-three and Sam was fifteen when they met. Not fifteen as I originally assumed, or eighteen. I thought he was eighteen though. Writer's fluke, maybe?  


	10. First Heartbeat

Thanks everyone! Those reviews were great. =] Keep 'em coming. I'm glad you all are enjoying this.

* * *

June 5th 

Sam twisted and turned on her side of the bed, trying to reach a comfortable position in the stifling heat of her room. She reluctantly kicked the sheets off her slender legs and laid still on her back, staring up at the ceiling. It was so hot in her bedroom. How could Luka sleep through this? If the heat hadn't woken him up, then her constant rolling over from back to stomach to side should have by now. 

Rolling onto her right side, she watched him as he slept momentarily, the rise and fall of his chest illuminated by the faint glow of the streetlight diagonal from her apartment. He looked so peaceful, yet mysterious, and deep down somewhere, Sam still felt like she didn't really know who he was—like she had only chipped away one tiny piece of Luka Kovac. 

Now she was wide awake and the digital alarm clock on Luka's side read one fifteen. Not able to sleep any longer, Sam climbed out of bed and loosened her tee shirt and cotton shorts from her sweat slicked body. 

Her apartment looked so different without her and Alex's clutter scattered around everywhere. Each room was virtually empty. Minor belongings such as clothes, some things of Alex's, and some pots and pans had been moved to Luka's, but other major things had been boxed up and placed in a corner of the living room, where only the couch and coffee table remained. Sam had her cable canceled the Saturday before Memorial Day, so Alex had been watching most of his shows and playing his video games at Luka's. Besides packing things up, Sam had been trying to move furniture that Luka already had into storage. The kitchen only had a refrigerator and microwave—neither of which Sam would be taking with her. The bathroom just had toilet paper and a spare bottle of shampoo and conditioner, along with soap and toothbrushes now. The bedrooms just held beds and dressers—both of which would be moved today.

Maybe that's why Sam was unable to sleep and feeling so restless. Today was June fifth. Moving day, the day she and Luka were hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time with Coburn, and five days until Luka was set to leave for France, where a connector flight would take him to the Congo.

They still hadn't talked about Sam accompanying him to Africa, even though her passport had arrived a few days ago. Last minute, Carter had made a decision to stay in Chicago, which meant that Luka would be traveling alone unless Carter decided otherwise or she ended up going. Sam couldn't believe that they still hadn't talked about the Congo. Sighing, she walked out of the bedroom and turned on the lamp in the living room before continuing into the bathroom. She started running cold water in the sink and splashed some onto her face to try to cool off some. 

Glancing out the window, she had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be warm. The weather forecast last night had said anywhere from the upper seventies to mid eighties with high humidity. Perfect. Sam was instantly glad that she wasn't the movers, who were coming to the apartment at eight. 

She shut off the water and glanced at herself in the mirror. Sam didn't think she looked any different then when she was pregnant with Alex—at least not right now. She was almost three months pregnant, and the only real difference was that she had put on a few pounds. Her clothes were still fitting pretty normally, although she knew in a few weeks that would all change. 

Slowly, Sam lifted up her tee shirt just enough to see her stomach in the dim light of the bathroom. She ran her fingers over her bellybutton, almost as if she expected a change to appear by just touching it. It still looked the same, although it was a little bit fuller now. Alex hadn't really brought up the topic about the baby again since they had talked about it a few weeks earlier, except to ask if the baby would have its own room at Luka's. 

"Hey."

Sam jumped and turned to find Luka leaned against the doorframe, watching her. "Hey." She dropped her shirt and yawned. "What are you doing up?"

"What are you?" he laughed softly. "Are you showing?"

She shrugged. "I think I just look bloated."

"Better than nothing, right?" Luka walked over and lifted her shirt up a little bit so he could take a look. "Doctor's orders."

Sam smiled. "I can definitely see you using that excuse to your advantage." She watched him rub his thumbs gently over her stomach in small patterns before looking up at her with a grin on his face.

"I'm going to miss this. Us. Alex."

She nodded and backed away from Luka slowly, picking up the toothpaste and shampoo bottles and putting them in the brown box marked 'Bathroom' by the door. "Three weeks. You know, my passport is still sitting in a drawer and we haven't talked about this anymore."

"I know." He had resumed his position in the doorway. 

"Look, if you just want me to stay here, then tell me so. I'll…be here when you get back. And I understand where you're coming from about my safety and everything, I guess."

"Yeah."

"Well at least I have a passport now. In case we plan any spur of the moment trips to London or Paris or something," she smiled, wrapping her arms around Luka's waist.

Luka kissed the top of Sam's head. "What about Croatia?"

"You mean that?" She glanced up at him as they started walking side by side down the hall towards the empty living room.

He nodded. "Eventually. Yeah."

Sam crossed her arms across her chest as Luka sat down on the couch. There was no television to watch and virtually nothing to do except go back to sleep or sit around and watch each other. A few minutes passed, and Sam even saw Luka close his eyes briefly and thought he had fallen back asleep. She crossed over to the window and looked out the shades onto the street below. 

"I don't want you to go."

Luka opened his eyes and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "I know."

"I know that you'll still go, but I don't want you to."

"Who's going to take care of Alex?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. I could ask my mom, Claudia—"

"Don't come with me. Stay here. Alex needs you. I need something to look forward to when I come back," he smiled. "I know you don't want to hear that."

"No, I told you I'd understand. It's okay. You've been there a few times before, you're more experienced…"

"I really do want you to come with me though," Luka spoke up. "But I don't want you to."

Sam glanced at the clock and laughed. "Okay, it's barely two in the morning and we're arguing about this."

"We're not arguing, we're just not really getting anywhere." He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. He whispered something in her ear, but Sam couldn't make it out. He kept doing this for a few minutes, and then finally stopped, planting a gentle kiss on her temple.

"I am supposed to ask what you just said?" 

He grinned and shook his head. "You can, but I won't tell you."

Sam rested her head against his chest. "Why not?"

"I'll tell you when I get back."

She nodded, knowing that whatever he head said in Croatian to her was worth waiting the three weeks to find out. "Five days are going to go by fast."

"I know." Luka yawned and took her hand. "What time is our appointment tomorrow?"

"Four."

"You think the movers will be gone by then?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "I think so."

"Good." Without warning, Luka suddenly lifted Sam into his arms and started carrying her back towards her bedroom, remembering to turn off the light in the living room as he did so.

"What are you doing?" she giggled. "I'll break your back or something."

"You forget that I weigh twice as much as you do," he laughed. "And I just won't do this after your six months pregnant because then you just might break something."

"Excuse me!" Sam protested as Luka carefully dropped her onto the bed and crawled on next to her. "When I'm in labor you better have on full body armor."

"You wish," Luka muttered, burying his face in the pillow. He grinned at the reaction on her face and tackled her with a kiss. "I take it back."

"Good." She snuggled up against him and when Luka tried to adjust the sheets over them, Sam kicked them down again. "Don't. I was so hot before."

"It's not hot in here."

"It is to me."

He sighed and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her body closer to his. "Night."

"Night," she yawned, placing half of her head on his pillow. Luka opened his eyes and groaned.

"Can't you get your own pillow?"

"I could, but that would mean I'd have to sit up and reach over the bed to get it off the floor," Sam told him. "So we can share."

"You win."

* * *

"Mom, I'm going to Mikey's!"

Alex ran through Luka's apartment, finally finding his mother and Luka standing outside the front door in the hall. "Mom, I said I'm going to Mikey's! When are you and Luka leaving?"

Sam looked away from Luka for a second. "In a few minutes. Just be back by eight, okay? And call if you decide to stay overnight."

"Yeah, Mikey and Jake and Todd might be coming over too."

"Okay. So just call. Get your stuff together and we'll drop you off before we go to the hospital." Sam turned back to Luka and he grinned at her, a sparkle in his eye.

Alex crossed his arms over his chest. "That's so gross. Can I take the El?"

Sam shook her head. "Not by yourself."

"Then why can't we all take the El together?" he complained. 

"Well I was just going to drive in, Alex. Come on, we'll give you a ride there," Luka added. 

"So I can see you two make kissy faces at each other in the car? _Great,_" he muttered sarcastically, running back down the hall towards his new room. 

"I'm sorry," Sam apologized. 

Luka shrugged. "Don't worry about it. He's probably just having a hard time adjusting." He walked back into his apartment and closed the front door after Sam. "You ready to go? It's almost three thirty."

"Yeah. Let me just go and see what's up with him," she sighed.

"Sure."

Luka glanced around the apartment. The movers had gotten to Sam's around eight, had everything loaded up and ready to go by nine thirty, and had unpacked everything at his place around noon. Since then, Sam had managed to put sheets and a comforter on Alex's bed and start unpacking some of his things. Alex ended up hooking up his television and PS2 by himself and had been pretty much occupied until Mikey had called him around two. How Mikey had gotten Luka's number so fast, Sam didn't exactly know, but it seemed to amuse Luka, so it was all right with her.

His apartment was looking a lot more cluttered than he was used to, mostly because the boxes in his living room were taking up so much space. But he figured that he and Sam would have everything unpacked before he left for the Congo on Thursday.

Sam wasn't going to go with him. She had pretty much come to that conclusion on her own, and was okay with being alone in his apartment with Alex for the three weeks that he would be gone. Still, Luka wished there was a way he could take her with him, but knew that it probably wouldn't be the best thing. She needed to be there for Alex, and he'd be home on July third. Everything would work out.

Standing there in the living room, he heard Sam and Alex's voices coming from Alex's room. Luka thought about how much he would be celebrating this year and how everything would be different from years past. Sam would be turning twenty-six on July seventeenth, and he still had to figure out what he wanted to do to make that night special for her. He wanted to take her out to dinner, but didn't know what else to do besides that. Then Alex's tenth birthday was August eighteenth, and he knew Sam was already starting to think about what to plan. Then it would pretty much be fall before they all knew it, and October brought his own thirty-seventh birthday. Three years to forty. Luka didn't know where all the years had gone. Then right after Thanksgiving, the baby would be born. Christmas would follow about two weeks later if Sam didn't give birth early or later than her due date.

_Luka wondered if he could manage to fit a proposal in there somewhere._

"Okay, okay Mom."

Luka broke out of his thoughts and took his keys out of his pocket. "Ready to go?"

"We are now," Sam laughed. She mouthed another 'Sorry' to him, but instead Luka just wrapped his free arm around her waist and held the door open for Alex, who took off down the hall in front of them.

* * *

Sam drummed her fingers impatiently against the exam table, glancing up at the clock. "I really don't know why I'm this nervous."

Luka leaned over and grabbed her hand gently to try and get her to stop tapping the table. "Because before now, you being pregnant was more of an idea, and when we actually see it on that screen, it's real. Not that it wasn't real to begin with, but you know what I'm saying?"

"Yeah. I just wish she'd get in here," Sam replied, referring to Dr. Coburn.

"She probably had something last minute. An induction, maybe."

The exam door opened, and Dr. Coburn walked in with a smile. "Sorry for the wait, I had to set up for an induction. How are we doing, Sam? Luka?"

Luka grinned at Sam and shot her an 'I told you so' look. "I'm okay."

"How's the morning sickness, Sam?" Coburn quickly washed her hands and put on a pair of fresh gloves.

"Not that bad. Bearable, I guess. It's only pretty bad late in the afternoon."

"That's not unusual. Are you able to keep anything down?"

"Some small meals, yeah," Sam answered. "It's a pain in the ass though, I wish it would stop."

"I know the feeling. So let's get you set up here."

Minutes later, Sam and Luka were looking at their baby on the ultrasound screen for the very first time and listening to its heartbeat.

"Looks good, you two. Really good. Strong heartbeat and you're progressing right into your third month, Sam," Coburn noted as she turned the ultrasound wand to get a better angle of the baby. "The morning sickness should pretty much be gone by early July, and you should be starting to gain some more weight. We can schedule you for the ultrasound to find out the sex anywhere after seventeen weeks, although it's up to you. Any other last minute questions before I print out these pictures?"

Sam shook her head and glanced over at Luka, who was sitting in the chair, eyes still stuck on the screen. "No, I think we're okay. Right?"

He nodded. "Yeah, we're good. Everything looks good, Sam."

"Yes it does," Coburn agreed. "Let me just clean this gel off your stomach and you can get dressed. You can set up your appointment at the front desk for next month."

Coburn left the room shortly after, and as Sam pulled her tee shirt over her head, she turned to Luka. "So…"

"Yeah," Luka smiled. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. "Looks good."

She nodded and smiled. "How do you feel about it?"

"Good. I don't know. I can't really describe it," he answered her. 

"That's how I'm feeling. I guess it still hasn't really set in yet."

"Yeah. I guess it hasn't," Sam smiled back. "I have to run down to the ER before we leave to get my schedule for the week, so if you don't mind or anything, we could do that and maybe take advantage of the fact that Alex is at a friends?"

"Yeah, that's fine. You have everything?"

"Just have to make another appointment and get the ultrasound pictures at the front desk," she pointed out.

* * *

"Hey, Sam!"

Sam spun around and came face to face with Jing-Mei near the admit desk. "Yea?"

"Do you know if the lab work came back for exam one?" She tucked a strand of her black hair behind her ear as she said this, looking exasperated.

"Oh, I'm not on today. Sorry."

"Thanks anyway!" She walked off in the opposite direction and Luka leaned up against the counter as Sam quickly checked her schedule.

"So how are the two proud parents to be doing today?" Jerry asked with a debonair smile. "Got the ultrasound pictures, I see." Luka glanced down at the pictures in his hand and nodded. 

"Yeah."

"Mind if I take a look?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

"Sam, I don't need your pollinated crap lying around here." Frank lifted a heavy bouquet of mixed flowers onto the counter, complete with a clear vase. "The ER is not a goddamn florist."

"Who are these from?" Sam pocketed her schedule and leaned over to smell the flowers, and then checked the white card on the front of the vase. It only had her name on it. She lifted it out of the envelope and scanned it quickly.

_Sam,_

_Sorry about reading your test results. I only told Jerry and I guess he got excited too and it got spread around that way. I hope you enjoy the flowers, and congratulations to you and Luka. Are we okay now?_

_Morris_

"That's so sweet," Sam laughed. She was interrupted by the sound of Frank sneezing loudly and obnoxiously.

"Great. Now take 'em out of my sight!"

Luka leaned over her shoulder and read the card. "Pretty thoughtful."

"He's still an ass," Jerry laughed, handing Luka back the pictures. "Looks like the lima bean is growing pretty well there, Sam."

"Ugh, you sound like Morris. Do you know where he is anyway?" Sam lifted the heavy vase in an attempt to carry them, but Luka quickly took them from her instead. "I haven't seen him lately."

"No heavy lifting," he smirked, brushing a piece of hair out of her face.

"That's because he's been trying to avoid you. He left at seven this morning. Won't be back on until tomorrow night. Keep going!" Frank sneezed again and Sam rolled her eyes.

"Got your schedule?"

"Yeah. See you guys on Monday."

"Hey, Kovac, you're going back to the Congo, right?"

Luka nodded and saw Sam look at the ground out of the corner of his eye. "Thursday."

"Working anymore before then?" Frank handed Jerry a stack of charts to file.

"No. My last day was yesterday," Luka answered. "So I won't see any of you until July."

"Good luck," Jerry added cheerfully. "See you Monday, Sam."

"Thanks," Luka answered before he and Sam headed out of the ambulance bay. "Frank doesn't usually talk to me."

"Frank doesn't talk to anyone. Only to insult them or bitch at them," she pointed out. "Are they heavy?"

"What, the flowers? Not really. I can't believe he bought you flowers."

"I guess he really did feel bad then. He's only been avoiding me for the past month."

Luka nodded before unlocking his SUV. "Do you like roses?"

"I think every girl likes roses. Why, are you taking a leaf out of Morris' book, or something?" Sam joked as she got in the passenger seat. Luka placed the flowers by her feet before climbing into the driver's side.

"I'm not taking any tips from Morris."

"True. You're better off," Sam smiled, leaning forward to make sure that the flowers weren't about to tip over.

* * *

Review please! =]


	11. Goodbye

The reviews were great! Thanks so much. =]

**NaomiP:** No, I didn't realize that Alex's birthday was in the spring. I missed a few episodes this season, but thanks for pointing that out. I'm still going to keep his birthday in August though, just for the timeline of my story. =] And about the scans, I know they're used for checking for abnormalities and such, but I know that some doctors kind of point that out about the sex anyway.

* * *

_June 10th_

"Mom, sign this." Alex bounced over to Sam with a white piece of paper in his hands. "It's the stupid permission slip for the field trip to Lake Michigan on Monday. I gotta hand it in tomorrow or I can't go."

Luka looked up from his cup of coffee and grinned. "You're going to Lake Michigan for a field trip?"

"Yea. It's such crap. For science. I hate science."

Sam quickly signed the form and handed it back to him, buttering a bagel for herself in the process. "Hey, don't say that. You might like it when you get older."

"You could become a brain surgeon," Luka joked. "Or make a discovery in neurosurgery."

Alex rolled his eyes and stole half of Sam's bagel. "Yeah, like I'd ever want to become a doctor."

Sam shot him a warning glare. "Cut it out, Alex. It's almost eight. If you don't hurry up you'll be late for school and I'm not dropping you off."

"Good, then I won't go. I don't need school, anyway. I wish we just stayed in our old apartment, but no. You guys just had to have a baby. I wish I could live with Dad!" He stubbornly walked out of Luka's kitchen, and the slam of Alex's bedroom door could be heard throughout the entire apartment.

Luka shot a sideways glance at Sam. She looked visibly shaken at Alex's last comment. "Hey…he didn't mean that. He's just trying to what do you call it, test his limits."

Sam nodded and set the portion of her bagel roughly on the kitchen table, taking off out of the kitchen and straight down the hallway towards Alex's bedroom.

"Sam, don't—" Luka sighed. "Let it go."

Sam sharply opened the door and marched over to the television, turning it off automatically. "You're grounded for two weeks. Meaning no going over Mikey's, no skate park, no video games, and no television."

"What?" Alex threw down his PS2 controller onto his bed and stood up. "You can't do that!"

"Yes, I can do that Alex! Whether you like it or not, I am your mother and that's how it's going to be!"

Alex angrily pulled open his closet door and picked out tee shirt and a pair of shorts to wear. "Yeah, well if you and Dad didn't have such a sucky relationship then maybe we'd all be living together!"

"No!" Sam shouted at him. Usually she made it a habit of trying not to argue with Alex and punish him appropriately, but his little smart ass rebellious attitude had been going on for too long and she was growing tired of it. With the stress of unpacking from the move, Luka leaving, and planning for the baby, she was fed up. "You want to know something, Alex? Your father isn't such of a great guy. He left the hospital right after you were born to go and drink and hang out with his friends. I went home with you two days later, and he didn't show up until a week later! I was sixteen years old, Alex! Most sixteen year olds spend their time hanging out with friends and going to the mall! It was two weeks before school started when I brought you home from the hospital, and instead of worrying about what I was going to wear on the first day of school, I spent every minute I could with you—making sure you were happy and fed and giving you what you wanted. I don't regret a damn minute of it! I loved taking care of you, even through all those sleepless nights, teething fits, and temper tantrums. From day one, I had to be the one to take care of you, Alex. And God help me if something ever happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. And I'm sorry you think everything sucks right now, but get over it! Just because I'm with Luka now doesn't mean I don't have time for you, but every time I try to make time for you, you blow me off with that attitude of yours. Don't you get it? No one will ever replace you. I'll always be here for you and love you no matter how much you hate me or think my rules suck. I'm sorry if you don't like Luke or his apartment, or like the fact that I'm with him, or don't want me to have another baby. I can't change it. You're just going to have to get used to it."

By now, Alex was staring wide eyed at his mother. He had never seen her so angry and upset with him before. "Mom—"

Sam shook her head. "Just get ready for school, okay? I'll drop you off late and sign you in." Sighing, she closed his bedroom door and walked out into the hall. Luka was leaned up against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

"You okay?" he questioned her. "What happened in there?"

She shrugged. "I guess I just took everything out on him. I don't know. I feel like I'm failing at raising him. He's really trying to test me lately and I don't know if it's just because he knows he can get away with a lot, but to want to live with Steve? God, I don't even want to think about it. Steve would probably just leave him to fend for himself half of the time."

Luka wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a hug. "You're a great mother to him. I know it's hard sometimes. I've…been there. Sometimes you don't know if you're doing the right thing or not. But you're doing a great job. He's not as little as you think anymore. He's growing up, and pretty soon he'll be a teenager, and driving, and he'll have his own girlfriend. Even then, you'll do a great job."

"You think?" Sam sighed into Luka's shoulder. "I'm really trying." They had walked into Luka's bedroom, and automatically Sam sat down cross-legged in the center of the bed. "He likes you a lot, Luka."

"Does he? Sometimes I'm not so sure." Luka walked over to his dresser and took his passport out of his dresser drawer, placing it next to his Alliance identification card.

"No, he really does. I know right now he's having a hard time. Every time Steve shows up, he really messes with Alex's head. He'll say anything to get Alex on his side, and that's a big part of why we keep moving around. I don't want to run anymore. I don't want to do that to Alex. I like Chicago; I like being here with you. I'm happy with settling here," she replied softly.

"Then don't. Don't let Steve show up and try to control you any longer. You're stronger than that." Luka tucked his passport and ID card into the front of his carry on bag. He placed his cell phone, charger, and beeper in the top drawer of the nightstand.

"You're not taking them?"

"Can't take my cell phone. I have nowhere to charge it. The battery would be dead within three days. I'll call you from Paris on a pay phone, and I'll call you from the Congo from the phone line in the hospital when I can. I don't want you to worry if I don't call you all the time, okay? I'll try to call every three or four days."

Sam nodded. "Okay."

"Steve doesn't know that you moved in with me, does he?"

She shook her head and stood up. "No. My mom doesn't even have this number yet."

"Okay. I just don't want him showing up and bothering you when I'm gone."

"He won't."

Luka sighed. "You're sure about that?"

Sam grabbed Luka's keys off of the nightstand. "I have to drive Alex to school. He's already late."

He nodded and leaned over slightly to kiss her goodbye. "You're a good parent. Don't let anyone try to tell you different."

* * *

Luka gently kissed the back of Sam's neck. After she had dropped Alex off at school late, they had gotten pretty carried away in the middle of some last minute packing that he had been doing. "Sam."

She stirred next to him, but didn't open her eyes right away. "Hmm?"

"Alex is getting home soon."

Sam adjusted the sheets around her bare body and snuggled into Luka's chest. "What time is it?"

"Almost two thirty. We have to leave for the airport in about an hour and a half."

She lifted her head off of his chest and groaned. "Already?"

"Yeah."

Sam sat up and fished her tee shirt off of the ground, pulling it on quickly. "So you have everything you need?"

Luka nodded. He was half dressed by now, although he was heading for the shower. "Packed and ready to go."

She walked over to the mirror and twisted her hair up with a white clip before turning back to him. "I was sort of thinking about picking up some paint samples with Alex when you were gone for the baby's room."

"You should. I think he really wants to be involved." Luka smiled at her. "You're not going to come home with twenty different shades of blue and pink are you?"

"I know he wants to be involved. He's just being stubborn," Sam smiled. "And I don't know about the paint colors. I think pink and blue are overplayed. I had a pink room growing up and I learned to hate it after I turned twelve."

"I don't like green."

Sam smiled. "What about teal if it's a boy? Or we could just go with white walls, a teal border, and a teal carpet? Or maybe pastel green?"

Luka couldn't help but smile when he realized how much Sam was getting into the whole idea of painting the baby's room. It wasn't that he wasn't excited, because he was—it was just that it was hard. It made him think of his children and how he and Danijela hadn't really gotten into the whole baby room scheme. They had just been happy enough to blessed with two healthy children.

"What about yellow for a girl?" he added in. "Maybe a yellow and pink combination. That way it's not all one color."

"Yeah. I like that," Sam agreed. "Alex told me he wanted to paint his room neon orange and black."

Luka laughed. "It would be Halloween all year."

"That's what I told him! When we look for paint samples for the baby, I think I'm going to try and get him to change his mind," she laughed. Luka kissed her on the neck before passing down the hall towards his bathroom.

"I'll be out in a few minutes. Want to join?"

Sam shook her head. "I'll take a rain check. Laundry to finish and a stubborn nine year old that I hope it talking to me when he gets home."

* * *

About an hour later, Sam knocked softly at Alex's bedroom door. She hadn't heard much from him since he had gotten home from school a little after two-thirty. He had muttered a 'hello' to Luka and headed straight for his room, without giving Sam a second glance.

"Hey. What are you doing?"

"Homework," he grumbled quietly. "Math. I hate fractions."

"Can I come in?"

Alex shrugged. "Free country."

She crossed her arms over her chest and flopped down on the bed next to him. "Want some help?"

"No. We have a test tomorrow. It's the last test of the year."

"I used to hate math. Fractions, algebra, everything. But I guess when you get older you learn to tolerate the crappiness of math and get through it. Can I see?"

"I guess so. I think I'm going to fail tomorrow anyway."

Sam checked over the homework sheet and circled the ones that were wrong with his pencil, which were only a few on that page. "You did pretty good. You only got a few wrong here. Don't say that."

"Do I really have to go the stupid field trip on Monday?"

"Only if you think you're going to have a good time. Are Mikey and Jake going?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah."

"Then I think you'll have a good time."

"Yeah." She heard a knock on the doorframe and looked over her shoulder. Luka was standing there with a smile.

"Hey. What are you guys doing?"

"Fractions." Alex rolled his eyes. "I hate them."

"Want some help?" Luka offered. "We don't have to leave for a few more minutes anyway."

"Sure," he agreed. "You're hogging the bed, Mom."

Sam laughed and scooted over some to make room for Luka. "Jeez, sorry."

Alex watched as Luka looked over the homework sheet. "Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty good at math. See, like this one? You had the right answer, but you didn't simplify it down enough." Luka rewrote the problem on the side and handed the pencil back to Alex.

"You mean divide more, right?"

"Right."

Alex redid the problem correctly and turned to Sam. "Am I gonna actually need this stuff in real life? I won't ask you for something stupid like a fourth of a piece of pizza."

Luka grinned and ruffled Alex's hair. "No, you probably won't, but I guess it's good to know it somehow. I don't know, you'll be surprised when you need it I guess."

"I'm proud to say that I definitely don't need algebra to go grocery shopping," Sam smiled back. "I guess my D in it spoke for itself though."

Luka laughed. "You failed algebra?"

"Hey, I passed the final."

"How old were you?"

"Fifteen," she said quietly. Luka had a feeling he already knew the reason why Sam hadn't done so well in school that year. For one, she was dating Steve, and two, she was pregnant with Alex.

"Oh." Luka glanced at the clock. "I guess we better get going to the airport."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, we should. Alex, get your shoes on, okay?"

"Yup."

* * *

Luka, Sam, and Alex had arrived at the airport shortly before five. Luka had driven his SUV in, and Sam would be driving it back. She was still a little nervous about driving it, but after a few times of taking it out with Luka in the passenger seat, she had gotten more comfortable with it and was pretty much a pro, as he had told her a few days before.

Everything was set for his trip to Africa. He had given Sam his own apartment key for safekeeping and instructed her to 'make sure all the doors were locked when she was home alone'. Sam smiled at his over protectiveness a little bit, but she could tell that he was already worried about leaving her behind. He had left emergency money and his credit card behind in case she needed anything, although Sam still felt more comfortable at using her own money. Luka insisted that she use his money anyway. He had his tickets, passport, ID cards, and carry on bag, and now Sam had to do was say goodbye and wait patiently until July 3rd, when he was set to come home.

Luka quickly took his carry on bag out of the trunk of his SUV and slung it over his shoulder while Sam and Alex got out.

"You're sure you have everything?"

He smiled and nodded, wrapping one arm around her waist. "I'm sure. I'm a good packer."

"Okay."

"Is it a long trip?" Alex piped up as they boarded the elevator that would take them from the parking deck to the main level of the airport.

"Yeah. It's pretty long. But not too bad. You sleep through most of it."

Five minutes later, they had approached the security checkpoint for international flights. Luka motioned for Sam and Alex to follow him off to the side so they could say their goodbyes.

"So…" Sam started. She felt her eyes start to tear up a little bit and quickly looked away.

"Yeah." Luka pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed the top of her forehead. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too. Call, okay? When you can." She rested her head against his chest, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Be careful and don't work too hard when I'm gone. Take it easy if you need to. Kerry will understand. I asked Carter to keep an eye out for you and Alex when I was gone."

"You didn't have to do that. I don't really know him that well," she smiled.

"Well then get to know him," Luka grinned back. "Take care of yourself. And the baby."

"And me!" Alex spoke up. "So what, do I get in on this group hug or do I have to stand here and watch you kiss each other for the next five minutes. Because that's kind of gross."

Sam started laughing and so did Luka. "Come here," she instructed, opening her one arm and turning her and Luka's hug into a three person one.

"Be good for your Mom, okay? Promise?" Luka asked.

"Deal."

Luka eyed the lengthening security line. "I better get in there."

Sam nodded. "Okay." Their lips met and Sam wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I'm so out of this hug now," Alex mumbled, stepping aside with a half smile on his face.

"I'll miss you," Luka told her again as they walked closer to the checkpoint.

"Have a good flight. Please be careful over there."

He nodded, stepping into the line. "I will."

Sam placed her hands on Alex's shoulders. "Okay."

"I love you."

She smiled at this. "I love you, too."

It wasn't long until Luka had passed through the checkpoint. He turned back a final time and smiled at her, and then he disappeared into the crowd of people heading for the terminals.

"You're not going to cry, are you?" Alex questioned.

"Maybe a little bit," she smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"Starving."

"How does a burger and friends sound right about now?"

"Pretty good."

Sam laughed and placed her arm around his shoulders. "Good, because I'm starving too."

* * *

Review!


	12. Something to Think About

* * *

_June 15th_

The ringing of the phone infiltrated the bedroom with sound and caused Sam to awake with a start. Groggily, she lifted her head off the pillow and reached her arm over to grab Luka's cordless phone. It was a little before four in the morning, and after a late shift the night before, she was more than exhausted.

"Hello?"

_"Hey. Did I wake you?" _Luka's voice came over the line. Sam was having a hard time making him out. It was almost like hearing someone shout your name across a crowded room, and the line had a little bit of static. He had been gone for ten days so far—and had called only twice in those ten days.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm glad to hear your voice."

_"Me too. How are you feeling? Everything okay?"_

"Pretty good. My morning sickness is gone. I can actually eat now." Sam heard the faint sound of him laughing on the other end of the line.

_"That's good. How's Alex?"_

Sam crawled out of their bed and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before turning on the lamp. "His last day of school is tomorrow, so he's pretty happy about that. He and a bunch of his friends are having a party at Mikey's house over the weekend so I probably won't see much of him."

_"A party? Non alcoholic, I hope."_

She smiled. "I don't want to have to deal with that yet. How are you?"

_"Good. I'm on my dinner break right now. It was busy today. Lots of cases of malaria and polio."_

"What time is it there?"

_"About five. How have your shifts been?"_

"Okay. A lot of bad MVAs this week. Back to back too."

_"Are you taking it easy?"_

"Yes, I am," she laughed. "I finished unpacking the apartment. It looks clean."

_"Good. Did you pick out the paint samples yet?"_

"Not yet. I think I'm going tomorrow after school with Alex."

_"Remember, no green."_

"Got it."

_"Hey, I've got to go. I'll try to call you again in a few days. It's busy here."_

"Just take care of yourself."

_"I will. Bye."_

"Bye."

Sam gathered herself off of the bed and traipsed into the living room, almost knocking over a lamp of Luka's in the process. There was no sense in going back to bed now, seeing as she'd have to be up in an hour to get ready for her six o'clock shift.

Lately, she had gotten a real chance to think about a lot of things. Maybe not having Luka around allowed her to actual get a grasp of reality. Things had changed, and maybe too quickly for her liking. Alex was growing up faster than Sam ever though possible, and she still felt like she had never really accomplished anything in life besides raising a ten year old. Yes, she had made it through college and nursing school but all she really had for so long was Alex and a somewhat steady paying job. Sam couldn't remember the last time she had been out with real friends. **What friends?** Unless she counted a best friend who she hadn't seen in over two years, then the grand total was zero. Occasionally, she'd go out with Abby after work, but even then, she couldn't really **talk** to Abby. Abby was Luka's ex girlfriend and there was only so much you could say before things became awkward. And Carter…well, Sam still didn't know him very well. He seemed like a nice guy, and he had offered to take her and Alex to get something to eat after a shift last week, but she had politely refused. Maybe she didn't want friends at all.

Her head was starting to buzz and Sam knew that whatever thoughts were about to form were going to make absolutely no sense. So instead, she sat down on the couch and pulled out a book of baby names.

Baby names? She hadn't done this in almost ten years, and didn't think she'd be doing it again this soon. It almost seemed like a stupid movie cliché—guy and girl sleep together, guy forgets condom, girl gets pregnant, guy and girl have to figure out what to do, guy and girl get married. Well, it seemed amusing enough to her. She was that girl, and Luka was that guy. Sam didn't know what kind of father Luka was going to be, but she had a feeling he would be a great one. Probably the type of father that would bring a new picture in each week of his son or daughter and show everyone at admit, then tape it up in his locker with a smile. He'd probably even con Sam into letting him bring their child to work when it was old enough. She could just imagine a three or four year old following Mom and Dad around the ER. At least Sam would be able to teach it not to steal severed fingers.

Screw the baby names. Sam knew that she'd never be able to decide and would just be here until she had to start getting ready for her shift, and plus, she didn't even know where to begin. Maybe she could make her own list for right now, and Luka could make one of his own, and they could compare. **Or, **she could leave the naming up to Luka and see where that got them. He was always more organized than she was, anyway.

She finally got up off the couch and set the baby book on the corner of the coffee table. Mentally, Sam started making a list of things she needed to do. _Send in the payment for Alex's fall soccer team._ _Make sure Steve paid child support this month. Unfortunately call her mother—maybe. Pick up paint samples. Plan Alex's birthday party. Get gas for the SUV. Do the laundry. Put new sheets on the bed. Go grocery shopping._

The list seemed to go on and on.

* * *

_June 18th_

"Luka!"

Luka looked up from his coffee and bread. "How can you eat that this early?"

Gillian sat down across from him at the table and shrugged, stirring the leftover beef stew around in the bowl. "It's better than drinking watered down coffee, no?"

"Maybe." He continued sipping his coffee and staring out the window. "So."

She half smiled and tucked a strand of her long, brown hair behind her ear. "So. You've been quiet since you've gotten here. Anything new?"

"When do you leave?" Luka mentally winced, thinking automatically about how that probably sent Gillian the wrong message. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to her right now, it was that he wanted to be alone.

"Two days. I've been here since late May." She sighed. "I'm sorry, maybe I shouldn't have bothered you."

"No, that's all right," Luka interjected. "I've just been thinking."

"Oh? How is she?" Gillian smiled knowingly and finished off the stew. "Did you end up working things out?"

"Yes. She moved in with her son," he said quietly.

She nodded. "I've been living with Peter for two years."

"Anything official?"

Gillian removed her other hand from her lap and placed it in front of Luka. A modest diamond ring sat perched a top her finger. "Two months ago. Right before I left. I know I shouldn't wear it around here, but I can't bring myself to take it off. I probably should have left it in Montreal."

Luka smiled when he glanced at it. "Congratulations."

"And you? Anything serious?"

He shrugged, but then nodded. "I've been thinking about it. I'm not sure yet."

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Luka cleared his throat and swallowed the last part of the bread. "Our baby is due in December."

Gillian looked taken aback at first, but then quickly regained her composure. "Congratulations. Boy or girl?"

"We'll be able to find out together when I get back."

She smiled and nodded. "I see couples that are together magically get married because the girl is pregnant all the time back home, and a good portion of the time it never works out. The only thing you bond over is your mutual love for a person you created and are responsible for. Don't ask her to marry you just because of that. You'll never be happy, and I want to see you happy."

"I'm not going to ask her to marry me because of that. I wanted to be with her long before I knew she was pregnant. She's great. Her son is great. I can't describe it." Luka thought back to what she had just said briefly. "How can you say things like that never work out? People can grow to love each other, you know."

Gillian shook her head sadly. "My daughter lives in Quebec with her father. Sometimes it's not meant to work out."

Luka didn't want to press the topic, although he had never known this about Gillian. "Do you ever see her?"

"No. She's eight years old now. He has full custody. I can't just walk back into her life right now. It would confuse her."

"What is her name?"

"Mariah."

The conversation stalled out after that, and both resumed their own train of thoughts briefly. Finally, Gillian stood up and pushed her chair in after her.

"I better get back. If I don't see you beforehand, take care of yourself. And if you're ever in Canada, look me up."

Luka smiled and nodded. "Thanks."

"And Luka? Do you love her?"

"I do."

"Then marry her. You'll be happy that way." She smiled and walked away, bumping into Angelique on her way out.

Luka finished off his coffee and stood up as well. Maybe marrying Sam was going to make him even happier then he was now. It was something to think about.

* * *

…

Review!


	13. Confrontation

Thank you all so much for those reviews! They mean so much to me.  
  
To **NaomiP**: Regarding Gillian's reaction when Luka told her about Sam's pregnancy, I understand that she is a nurse, but when I wrote that scene, I wasn't planning to have her figure out the exact time frame that Sam had been pregnant for. Even though she was a nurse, I wanted her to be wrapped up in the conversation and be happy for Luka instead of thinking about the technicalities of the situation. That's why I had her ask him whether or not he knew what the sex of the baby was yet. Even if I was a nurse, I probably would have asked the same thing. :)

* * *

_July 1_  
  
Sam glanced over her shoulder as she poured herself another cup of coffee. Her shift was over in about another two hours, and she had conned Alex into coming into work with her today, just so she wouldn't have to worry about him causing any problems at the apartment. Last week, he had ordered two pay-per-view skateboarding shows, adding a whole seventy-five dollars to Luka's satellite bill.  
  
"Hey, there's part of a sub in the fridge. It's ham and provolone, so I know you'll eat it," Sam told him, watching Alex play his game boy out of the corner of her eye.  
  
"Okay."  
  
"Well I've got to get back out there, so I'll check on you in a little bit?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Don't leave this room. I mean it," she added sternly before passing through the lounge door and out into the hall. Jerry was pleasantly seated at admit, answering the phone. He greeted Sam with a smile, dropped his eyes towards her stomach, and gave her the thumbs up.  
  
She smiled and hovered around the desk, sorting through charts and lab results. If everyone didn't know she was pregnant before, they certainly knew now. She had recently started showing enough through her nursing scrub top. Even though it wasn't immediately obvious, Sam's co- workers had picked up on it, considering they spent a good amount of time with her on the days she was working. After all, with the way gossip tended to spread through the ER, anything could be expected. Still, although most people knew or assumed it was Luka's baby, others were convinced it belonged to Steve, and that made her uncomfortable. Now that she knew Steve's true colors, Sam couldn't even imagine having a child with someone like that again. That was why she was so glad she had found Luka.  
  
"Hey, Sam, whatever you do, don't name your kid Brutus."  
  
Sam laughed and looked up at Jerry. "What are you doing?"  
  
Jerry held up the book he was looking at, entitled "_1001 Baby Names for the Expectant Parents_". "That's actually listed in here. Brutus Kovac. I guess it's better then Igor. Unless your child is a boy and you and Luka decide to have him take up professional bodybuilding as a hobby."  
  
"I really doubt that, Jerry," she smiled. "But thanks for the heads up."  
  
"Anytime."  
  
Sam crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a curious smile. "Hey, why are you looking at that anyway?"  
  
"Oh," he blushed. "My girlfriend and I, we're expecting our first. So I figured that I'd make a list of my own to compare with hers and we'd sit down and cross things off. She's about six and a half months now."  
  
"Why didn't you say anything to anyone sooner! Wow, that's really great. Congratulations. Boy or girl?"  
  
He shrugged his shoulders. "We want to be surprised, so we're not going to find out. Are you and Luka going to?"  
  
"I think so. Sometime towards the end of July. It makes things easier in a way, you know?" Sam pulled up a seat next to him and started looking at the book. "Like when I had Alex, I didn't find out what I was having, and ended up having to return a ton of girl clothes and things that couldn't be associated with a boy. But you'll probably get a lot of unisex clothes. You know, if you need any advice or anything, let me know. I can probably help you out. Maybe when Luka gets back, we can all go shopping together or something."  
  
Jerry nodded. "Thanks Sam. That makes me feel somewhat better. The closer we get to the due date, the more I think about how clueless I am about everything. It's kind of overwhelming. I'm sure Christine would appreciate that."  
  
"So how long have you two been together?"  
  
"About two years now. She's really great...we met at a Chicago Cubs game. I accidentally knocked her soda into her lap and the next night we ended up going out on a date as a way of me apologizing to her. From there, it's been nothing but lots of laughs and good times. She moved in with me last Christmas."  
  
"How come I haven't seen her around here?" Sam questioned.  
  
"Well she usually is around here on my lunch break, everyone just hasn't paid much attention," Jerry laughed. She's an elementary school teacher for second graders. Loves her job. She's always bringing home artwork from her kids. For her twenty-eighth birthday last month I had them help me decorate a cake for her. She loved it."  
  
"That's so sweet," Sam gushed. "I can't wait to meet her."  
  
"If she's here later today I'll track you down."  
  
Sam nodded and eyed Kerry passing through the ER and grabbed a nearby chart. "I better get back to work."  
  
"Hey, Luka gets back on Saturday, doesn't he?"  
  
She nodded. "Yup. Can't wait."  
  
Jerry answered the ringing phone and waved goodbye quickly while Sam headed to curtain one.  
  
_"Hey, Sam."_

* * *

Sam turned around and froze in her tracks, dropping the chart down in front of her stomach casually. Steve was standing off to the side, hands shoved into his pockets. He had grown a goatee over the time he had been gone. Sam hadn't seen him since early March, before she found out she was pregnant and before she moved in with Luka.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"I came back. I told you I'd come back."  
  
Sam rolled her eyes and continued down the hall. Steve trailed after her. "You wrote a note and took off. Way to get started on the right foot with me."

"I got a construction job in Santa Monica. It pays well, and I have a nice place close to the pier. Two bedrooms, two baths. You'd like it, Sam. You've always loved the ocean."  
  
"Yeah, when I was sixteen years old. I liked a lot of things before I had Alex."  
  
Steve grabbed onto her elbow gently. "I want you and Alex to come live with me, Sammy. I want us to be a real family, like I said. You could get a job out in one of the hospitals there, and Alex could go to school and hang out at the beach. We could have fun out there."  
  
Sam jerked her elbow away and stepped back, dropping the chart she had been holding in the process. "Get off of me."  
  
"Sam, come on—"  
  
She left the chart lying on the floor and looked away as Steve's eyes rested over the lower portion of her body. "I said no. We're staying here. Alex and I, we're happy here. I like my job here, and Alex likes his friends. I'm in a serious relationship with someone that I **love**, who treats me with more respect and kindness than **you** ever did. Whatever we had was over a long time ago. I can't believe you came all the way here and expected me to drop everything and move away again. You're _pathetic_."  
  
Steve smirked at her. "Well Sammy, it seems that you've gained some weight while I was away, or you've got another little surprise coming along in a few months. How far along are you? Three, four months now?"  
  
"Shut the fuck up."  
  
"Now, if only your boss heard you talking to patients like that. I'm sure I could file a complaint—"  
  
Carter turned the corner quickly and eyed the tense scene. "Do we have a problem here?" He looked over to Sam, and when she didn't respond, he put himself between Steve and Sam. "Sam?"  
  
"It's nothing," she said quickly.  
  
"I'd say it's something to get knocked up by some foreigner when we still had something together," Steve spat back. "What, hotshot doc can make all your dreams come true and I can't? I think it would just be better if Alex lived with me."  
  
"Get out of here before I call security," Carter warned. "This is harassment."  
  
"I'd like to see you try to stop me, doc," Steve threatened.  
  
_"Mom?"_  
  
Carter, Sam, and Steve all turned around and looked at Alex, who had just entered the hallway.  
  
"Hey, buddy," Steve smiled. "How are you?"  
  
"Alex, come here," Sam hissed under her breath. Without protest, Alex brushed past Steve and bent down to pick up the chart his mother had dropped before standing slightly behind her, partially hidden from Steve's view.  
  
"I asked how you were, Alex," Steve repeated, his voice rising slightly. "What do you think about coming to live with me? I live right on the beach in Santa Monica. You know where that is, Alex?"  
  
Alex shook his head. "No."  
  
"Steve, just get out of here." Sam shot a warning glare in his direction. Carter inconspicuously walked into trauma one, and over her shoulder, she could see him dialing security on the phone.  
  
Steve, however, hadn't noticed this and was trying to win Alex over. "Hey buddy, what do you think about us going to that skate park you're always telling me about today? Since I'm in town for a few days, we can catch up and you can think about coming back to California with me."  
  
"Mom, I don't want to," Alex whispered. "Do I have to?"  
  
"No. Absolutely not," Sam answered.  
  
Just then, Chuny walked down the hall in a hurry. "Oh, Sam! I have those baby clothes from my sister I was telling you about. She finally dropped them off at my place last night. Let me know when you want them, okay? See you later," she smiled.  
  
Steve scowled. "So you really are pregnant again."  
  
Security turned the corner and the two guards quickly intercepted the conversation. "Sir, we're going to have to ask you to live the premises now."  
  
"Sure thing," Steve obliged with a smirk. "My business is done here." With that said, he walked away with both of the guards.  
  
Kerry headed towards Sam with a concerned look on her face, having eyed the scene from admit. "Everything all right, Sam?"  
  
"It is now." Sam loosely wrapped her free arm around Alex's shoulders. "Thanks, Carter."  
  
"No problem. Why don't you and Alex take off?" he suggested. "Things are slow around here anyway." He walked Sam and Alex back to admit, dropping the chart off on the rack. "Better yet, why don't I walk you guys to the parking deck?"

"I agree," Kerry stated. "Enjoy the rest of your day, Sam."

* * *

_8 PM_  
  
Sam slumped down on the couch next to Alex and set the large bowl of popcorn between them. "So, what are we watching?"  
  
"_Pirates of the Caribbean_. It's really good," he remarked, pressing the play button on Luka's DVD remote.  
  
"I didn't know Luka had that movie. Never seen it," Sam smiled. She lifted her feet onto the coffee table before settling back into a comfortable position.  
  
She had to admit that this was the perfect ending to a pretty rough day. After the brief run in with Steve at the hospital, Carter had walked her and Alex to Luka's SUV and made sure it was all clear before allowing her to drive off. Sam knew that he was just concerned that Steve might have been waiting in the parking deck, but that wasn't the case. He seemed to have taken off, but Sam knew that wouldn't be the last she'd see of him. She knew Steve better than that.  
  
Once they had gotten closer to Luka's apartment, Sam had taken Alex to Burger King for a late lunch, and then together they had gone to the skate park so Alex could show his mom some of his latest skateboarding trips. Around three, the temperature seemed to have reached almost ninety, so before going home, they stopped for smoothies.  
  
Once Sam had arrived back at the apartment, the first thing she did was lock and chain the door as a precaution. It made her feel safer anyway, and although Sam knew that Steve had no idea what part of town Luka lived in, she knew that there was the possibility that he could have followed her home, and that was creepy.  
  
Alex hadn't said much about Steve returning. In fact, he was keeping pretty quiet since they had left the hospital. Sam half expected him to willingly agree to live with Steve after all the attitude and crap he had been giving her about Luka, moving, and the baby, but lately Alex had seemed to calm down and really start to adjust to the idea and situation of everything.  
  
"Popcorn?" Alex handed her the bowl about five minutes into the movie. Gladly, Sam took a handful and munched on it before tossing a kernel playfully at Alex.  
  
He laughed and protested, taking the whole handful of popcorn that had been in his hand and dumping it over Sam's head. She leaned over and shook the popcorn out of her hair onto him and laughed loudly. Alex paused the movie and stood up, grabbed the leather pillow off of the couch, and flung it at his mother, who grabbed it before it hit her with a smirk.  
  
"Nice try," Sam giggled, moving out of the way with the popcorn bowl. She set it on the coffee table and Alex automatically planned a counterattack. He grabbed two fistfuls of the popcorn and flung it at her, making sure to get a decent amount in her hair.  
  
"Ha!" he bellowed out. He ducked as Sam picked up the popcorn bowl, but laughed when she dumped a portion of it down the back of his shirt. "This is war!"  
  
"Oh yeah? Bring it on, kid," Sam laughed, running down the hall as Alex chased after her with a cup of the water he had been drinking. "Alex, no! Don't!" she laughed again. It was too late, and he dumped the water over her head. Most of it ended up on Sam, and only a few drops on Luka's beige carpet. The top of her hair was plastered to her forehead before she could pull it back.  
  
By now, the entire room was a mess of popcorn kernels and pillows. The movie had long since been forgotten about as the popcorn war raged on. Sam shrieked as Alex returned to the living room with a tray full of ice cubes, putting two straight down the back of her shirt. She collapsed to the floor in hysterics, attempting to get them out. Alex was doubled over in laughter, until she took the initiative to dump the rest of the popcorn bowl over his head.  
  
A knock came at the apartment door, and Sam heard the key turn in the door.  
  
_"Sam, Alex, did you lock me out?"_  
  
"Luka!" Alex yelled out.  
  
"Alex, the place is a mess," Sam laughed, not bothering to get off the floor. She sat up, still tossing popcorn at Alex who stuck out his tongue and dropped another ice cube down her shirt. "Ah!"  
  
Alex bowed and grinned broadly before unlocking the front door and undoing the chain on the door. "Hey, Luka! You're home early!"  
  
Luka closed the door and took one look at his messy apartment and smirked. He dropped his duffel bag by the door and laughed when he saw Sam sitting in the middle of the living room. "I guess this is the last time I leave you two in charge of my apartment," he laughed.

* * *

Reviews are great. =] 


	14. Fourth of July

* * *

_July 4_

Sam sleepily rolled over and curled up against Luka, entwining her bare legs with his own. Alex had spent the night at one of his friend's houses, which had left her and Luka some much needed alone time. It had only been three days since he had returned from Africa, but in those three days they had both acted like they hadn't even seen each other for three years. Sam had to admit she could get used to the feeling of Luka always kissing and holding her, and hadn't realized how much she had come to miss it until he had come back.

She felt one of his strong arms wrap around her lower back, while the other arm brushed up against her swollen stomach before he rested his hand on top of it. Sam smiled when he kissed her collarbone and she opened her eyes.

"Morning," he greeted, planting a long, drawn out kiss against her lips. "Sleep well?"

"Very," Sam replied. "I think we better start finding better positions to do what we've been doing before I get too big to do it anymore."

"What? Say that again, but slower," Luka teased her. "And don't worry, I'll find a way. I don't care if you're two weeks overdue, it won't stop me from making love to you anytime soon."

"Think about what you just said when you need a forklift to lift me onto the bed," Sam smirked, reaching her hand over and running her fingers through his hair. "And two weeks overdue? Oh god."

"You'll go earlier."

"You don't know that."

"I doubt you'll stay two weeks overdue. Maybe a week at most," Luka grinned. "Then it's six weeks of celibacy."

"You talk like you're so deprived."

"Yes, that's what I've been trying to tell you all along," he added, rolling on top of her briefly. He kissed her quickly before moving off of her again and landed on his stomach. "I missed you."

"You only told me since you got back," Sam smiled. "But I missed you too."

"I almost forgot, Susan called last night while you were in the shower. She and Chuck invited a few people over to their apartment tonight for the fireworks. Apparently you can see them from their balcony without getting attacked by mosquitoes. Did you want to go?"

Sam nodded. "Sure. At least Alex won't bitch about being out in the heat."

Luka gave her a smirk and nodded. "That's true."

"How old is Isabella now?"

"About a month and a half. Susan was telling me that she's been getting on a better schedule and sleeping about seven hours each night."

"Not bad." Sam wrapped the covers around her chest and watched as Luka got out of bed and hastily threw on a tee shirt and sweatpants. "Aren't you hot?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Actually, no. It's sort of freezing in here. I think I put the air conditioning down too low last night."

Sam heard the familiar ring tone of her cell phone go off and watched as Luka took it off of the dresser top and tossed it at her. She caught it instantly and pressed the 'talk' button on it. "Hello? Oh, hey. No…what? Yeah. Yeah, I saw him. No. He told you? Mom. Mom! I'm twenty-six, I can make my own decisions. No, I don't want to see him. I don't care. Mom, I don't want him a part of Alex's life. Yeah, I'd like to see him try to take me to court for custody. Do you know how many things his has against him on his record?" She glanced up at Luka, who was watching her with a concerned look on his face. "No. Forget it, I have to go. Mom, I have to go! No, I'm not discussing this with you. No, I'm not engaged. I don't really care about your opinion right now, I have to go. I have to go! Because I do! What? Fine, I have to go now. I'm going. I'm hanging up. Okay Mom, great, you too. Bye." She ended the call and leaned over, placing the cell phone on the nightstand. "Can I have a pair of your sweatpants, please?"

Luka nodded and grabbed a pair of his gray sweatpants out of the bottom dresser drawer and brought them over to her. He watched silently as she quickly changed, pulling on her shirt from the night before. He couldn't help but smile as Sam tugged the shirt down over her growing stomach. It was cute, the way her stomach slightly protruded from the rest of her small body, even if she didn't look too happy right now. "Yours aren't fitting?"

She shrugged and got up off of the bed. "I don't know."

"What happened?"

Sam pulled her hair out of the tie and shrugged as it cascaded over her shoulders. "Nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

"Did your mother say something to upset you?" Luka followed her out of the room and into the kitchen, where she had started pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"What do you think?"

"You don't really need to be so hostile, Sam," he replied softly. "If I didn't care I wouldn't ask. I want you to be able to talk to me about these things."

Just as the words came out of Luka's mouth, Sam did something that he rarely had seen her do in the few months they had been together. She started crying. Hard.

"I really don't need this from her. All she does is call me and put me down all the time and tell me how I'm not raising Alex right and I should be with Steve," Sam blubbered. "And then she says she's disappointed in me that I'm pregnant again and that didn't I learn my lesson the first time, and that I should have been married this time around, and if I stayed with Steve we would have been married by now and, I don't, I don't—"

Luka gently took the orange juice glass from her hand and set it on the counter, just so she wouldn't spill it over herself, or him, or the floor. He then wrapped his arms around her and tightly pulled her into his chest with a sigh. "Shh. How did she find out?" He helped her over to the kitchen table and sat her down, setting the juice glass in front of her.

"They day that you came home, I had shift, and Steve showed up at the hospital. He told me that he had this new job in Santa Monica and that he wanted Alex and I to come out there and live with him. I basically told him no way, which really pissed him off, and then I dropped a chart I was holding and he kind of realized that I was pregnant again. He asked if I had gained weight or something. Carter ended up calling security on him, but not before Chuny walked by and asked me when she could drop off the baby clothes from her sister at the apartment."

"So Chuny let the cat, uh, out of the bag?" Luka smirked. Sometimes he still didn't understand all the American expressions. "Did I say that right?"

She smiled. "Yeah, you did."

"So security escorted him out?"

Sam nodded. "He went pretty willingly, which surprised me. That probably won't be the last I'll see of him."

"And your mother is angry at you because you're pregnant again?"

"Let's just say the idea of her becoming a grandmother again really doesn't thrill her too much," Sam added sadly. "I've never had a good relationship with her."

"I'm sorry," Luka said softly. "I don't really know what to say to make you feel any better. Family situations…they're tough."

"The thing is though, she's my **mother**, but she acts like Steve is the son she's never had. She's always wanted to see us work everything out and be a real family or something."

"Maybe it's because she wants what's best for Alex," he pointed out. "And she doesn't see why a relationship with Steve could never work out like you can."

Sam wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

"I haven't talked to my father or brother since Christmas. I should call." Sam watched as Luka appeared to get a far off look in his eyes, like he was deep in thought about another part of his life that Sam didn't know too much about. Besides the little things that he had told her about his family, Danijela, and his children, she didn't know if it was her place to ask anything more of him.

She stood up from the table and rinsed out the glass quickly in the sink before placing it in the dishwasher. Luka suddenly came up behind her and kissed the back of her neck.

"I never asked you, how did your last appointment with Coburn go?"

"Good. I heard the heartbeat again."

"Nice and strong?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah. She set up another ultrasound two weeks from now to check how the baby's growing and to make sure everything's progressing okay, but she said at that appointment she can also try to get a good position to find out the baby's sex."

"Good. So then we might be able to get a head start on painting that room after all?" he grinned. Luka grabbed the bread out of the cabinet and placed two slices in his toaster while Sam ran the dishwasher.

"I forgot to pick up those paint samples."

He shrugged. "We have time." Luka glanced up at the cordless phone placed on his wall. "I really should call my father."

* * *

By seven, Sam, Luka and Alex had arrived at Susan and Chuck's apartment. Last minute, Sam couldn't decide on anything to wear, so she had settled on a navy blue tracksuit that didn't cut off any major circulation around the waist. Luka had run out to the store to get a case of Coronas, and while he was there Sam had managed to finish up the batch of brownies she and Alex had made last minute to bring over Susan's.

The door opened and they came face to face with Chuck. "Hey! Come on in." He was holding a bottle of formula in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other.

"Hey, I picked this up for Susan," Luka said. He walked into the apartment and Sam and Alex followed.

"Oh, thanks! Come on in the kitchen and we'll put them in the cooler. Abby's on her way, and so is Carter. Chuny and Yosh are around here somewhere, and my mom's coming later." Chuck, Luka, and Alex headed off for the kitchen just as Susan came around the corner carrying baby Isabella.

Sam smiled at the tiny baby, who was just about seven weeks old. Susan had her wrapped up in a yellow receiving blanket, pacifier snugly in her mouth.

Susan smiled. "Hey. I'm so glad you and Luka made it. The turn out's been kind of crappy so far, with mostly everyone working." Isabella clutched onto her mother's finger and closed her eyes.

"She's beautiful," Sam stated, running her fingers lightly over the baby's fine light brown hair. "She looks just like you."

"You think so? Everyone tells me she looks like Chuck. It's a little bit discouraging."

"Yeah well, she'll have the boys chasing after her in no time."

"God, let's not even go there yet," Susan laughed. Isabella yawned and waved her arms in the air. "Do you want to hold her?"

Sam nodded. "Sure." Susan carefully placed Isabella in Sam's arms and took the opportunity to sit down on the couch for a minute. "God, this brings back memories."

"I bet it does. Isabella reminds me of when I used to take care of my sister Chloe's baby, Susie. It's been a long time."

"How old is Susie now?"

"Nine. Around Alex's age." Susan took one look down at Sam's small stomach and covered her mouth. "Oh my god! I totally forgot! How are **you** doing? I swear I'm so behind on everything. How far along are you now?"

"Four months." Sam rocked Isabella gently back and forth. "And I'm doing better than I was. The morning sickness was a real pain in the ass."

"Tell me about it. Try having it when you're pulling a twelve-hour shift. It was the pits," Susan groaned. "It was worth it though in the end."

"Yeah. It always is." Just sitting on the couch with Isabella reminded Sam of how many sleepless nights she used to spend rocking a newborn Alex to sleep after a feeding, or when he was too fussy to actually want to go back to sleep. It served as a reminder that in another six months, she would be doing it all over again, except this time she wouldn't be alone. She'd have Luka there to support her through everything. "Did you get an epidural?"

"Oh, yes. I tried to tough it out for as long as possible, but when I almost crushed Chuck's hand, I said enough was enough and called the epidural man. He spent the next few hours with his hand in an ice bucket, and it was black and blue for a week after that."

"I'm hoping for a quick delivery this time around. I think I was in labor with Alex for twenty hours. Something like that. He was stubborn and wanted to stay in there."

Susan laughed and picked up Isabella again from Sam's arms. "I don't really blame him. It's warm, you have food, it's not too noisy, and you get to sleep most of the time. Not too bad."

"Exactly."

"How was Luka's trip?"

"He hasn't really talked to me about it, but he got home on Thursday, the first."

"He's coming back to work tomorrow?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, before Kerry gives him anymore hell."

Susan smiled and shook her head. "That's true. Hey, that reminds me. I have a few things I thought you could use for the baby. Let me just take her to Chuck." She stood up off the couch and walked into the kitchen, returning quickly with an empty bottle. "Okay, I think I put everything in Isabella's closet."

Sam got up off the couch and followed Susan to the baby's room, where she watched her take a few things out of the closet. "Okay, I had so many extra packs of receiving blankets I thought people were thinking that I was expecting seven babies instead of just one…"

* * *

"Do you want anything else to drink?" 

Sam turned and leaned her head back against Luka's chest, who had just come up behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. The fireworks had just started going off, and she had joined Carter, Abby, Yosh, Chuny, and Susan to watch them. Chuck was putting Isabella down for the night after Susan had fed the baby her nightly bottle and given her a bath.

Sam shook her head with a yawn. "No. Does Alex want anything?"

Luka smirked and glanced up at the sky. "He's been asleep on the couch for the last twenty minutes."

"You're kidding. He was so psyched for these fireworks too," she laughed.

"Well there's always next year. Except this time next year we'll have a seven month old with us," he remarked, kissing her cheek before taking another swig of his beer.

"And an almost eleven year old."

"We could be married by then."

She shrugged and watched as the finale of fireworks started from the balcony. Chuck had finally joined Susan and the two were cuddled up together near the doorway, baby monitor in hand. "Or we could have a house."

"With a white picket fence?"

"And two dogs."

He laughed. "You could be pregnant again."

Sam playfully hit his arm and shook her head. "No way. Not with having to take care of a seven month old and a preteen."

"I could retire," Luka joked back just as playfully.

"Right before your thirty-eighth birthday? Nice try."

The fireworks ended then, and shortly after, Carter and Abby left, followed by Chuny, then Yosh. Sam had managed to wake Alex up and get him in the SUV, where he had practically fallen back asleep before either she or Luka could get in. They thanked Susan for a good time, but in reality, what Luka had been saying to her about a house and getting married had stayed on Sam's mind for the rest of the night. Had he really meant what he said?

The drive back was silent, until Luka finally spoke up. "So what do you think about that house?"

Sam glanced over at him as they reached the stoplight. "I uh, I don't know. Are we ready for a house?"

"Maybe not right now, but I'd like to have Alex and the baby grow up with a backyard. I want a lawn that I can mow, and maybe a pool that we can all swim in one day. We'll eventually need the room and then some."

"I don't really think we'd need all that room until the baby is in preschool. I mean, Alex and I just moved in with you. I don't really know if that's a step we should be making right now."

"Oh." Luka's face fell slightly as he turned the corner. "Okay."

Immediately Sam felt terrible for what she had just said. She hadn't meant for it to come out the way it had, but it's what had been running through her head and she didn't want to lie and then back out of it later. She didn't know if she'd be comfortable living in a house—not unless they were going to get married, and Sam didn't see that happening anytime soon.

* * *

Reviews are a wonderful thing.


	15. Happy Birthday, Sam

* * *

To answer a few reviews:

Emzgurl: I'm glad you're enjoying this! I agree, I'm sort of glad I decided against having Sam go to the Congo with Luka. I think everything worked out better this way instead. Thanks for reviewing!

NaomiP: I chose not to have Susan breastfeed her baby, that's all. =] A few people that I know have just been unable to breastfeed their babies, or have decided against it. I'm not really sure why I had Susan follow this pattern, but Sam will breastfeed her and Luka's baby, in case you were wondering. Thanks for the review!

Also to tars, dupton, julie and jj, your reviews have been greatly appreciated! Thanks! And to everyone else that have reviewed in earlier chapters, your support has been great. =]

--Mari

* * *

_July 17, 2004_

"Hey, Luka, when do we get to find out what the baby is?"

Luka turned off the electric burner on his stove and shoveled the rest of the pancakes he had just finished making onto the plate. "Well, your mom has an ultrasound at the end of the month to make sure everything with the baby looks okay, so maybe then."

"Cool. So, can I wake up mom now?"

"No, let her wake up on her own. She had a hard time sleeping last night, and she has a shift from ten to four."

"But you're home today?"

Luka nodded and set the stack of pancakes in the middle of the table. "Yes."

Today was Sam's twenty-sixth birthday, and Luka and Alex had spent much of the beginning of the week trying to figure out what to do to make it as special for her as they could. Since Sam had to work a shift, they all couldn't spend the day with her as originally planned, but last minute, Luka had decided on something that Alex had agreed to.

He had decided to paint the baby's room, which was right across the hall from his and Sam's bedroom. He and Sam had settled on just painting the room a neutral white, and placing a gender specific border around the walls when and if they ended up finding out the baby's sex. Sam had also added that they could also add decals to the walls if they got around to it, but with Luka busy working shifts, and Sam trying to cope with Alex running around from friend to friend's houses, neither had time to sit down and really think about the future of the room. So the night before, Luka had stopped at a local hardware store once he got off of work and picked up two gallons of white paint, can opener, paint stirrer and brushes. He had also picked up a gallon of finish, but realized that it was going to take a few hours to paint the whole room anyway and that the damn finish could wait until he got around to it, be it even weeks from now. No one would realize the difference.

Other than painting the room, Luka had gotten Sam a rocking chair, the first thing he had ever bought for the baby's room and for her. Even before Sam and Alex had moved in with him, the room had remained empty and just had been used to keep his laptop and desk. They hadn't even gotten a crib or any other specific furniture for it, but in a way, Luka was proud of that. Now the room would be painted, have a closet, and a rocking chair. Not too bad of a start.

Sam shuffled into the kitchen and smiled, running her fingers through her curly hair. "Smells really good in here. Who cooked?"

"Luka did," Alex told her. He ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Happy birthday, Mom."

"Whoa, did we have a mood change since last night?" Sam smirked, hugging him back. "Thanks kiddo."

Luka walked over and kissed her, handing her a glass of orange juice. "Happy birthday. I figured I'd make you something to eat. Did you get any more sleep?"

She nodded and sat down at the table, helping herself to two pancakes and a sausage link. " Thank you. Kind of. I had really bad heartburn last night."

"Guess we shouldn't eat Mexican food for awhile," Alex laughed. "That sucks. I like tacos."

"You can eat it," Luka explained to him, sitting down next to Sam. "But your mom can't because it upsets her stomach."

"Oh. Okay."

Sam sipped her orange juice and reached over the table to ruffle Alex's hair. "Your hair is getting really long. Want to get it cut?"

He shrugged. "Maybe a little. I like it long. It's cool."

"Okay," she laughed. "So what are you guys up to today?"

"I think Jake is coming over later and then Luka said he might take us to the skate park."

Luka nodded and smiled, swallowing his bite of the pancakes. "If it doesn't storm."

"The weather report says we're supposed to have some pretty rough storms roll through here tonight," Sam added.

"You must have been hungry," Luka smirked. A whole pancake and a half had been eaten already on her plate.

"Guess we're going to have to start buying more food around here," she laughed with a smile.

"So does that mean like, **tornadoes** are gonna hit? Awesome!" Alex got up out of his chair and ran over to the kitchen window, staring up at the partly cloudy sky.

"Hopefully not." She stood up from the table and brought her dish over to the sink to run it under the water before loading it in the dishwasher. "I better start getting ready for work. Thank you both for breakfast. It was so sweet of you guys." Sam kissed the top of Alex's head, but Luka stood up and wrapped his arms around her waist before she could leave the kitchen. He planted a long, drawn out kiss on her lips that left Sam slightly flushed and Alex staring at the both of them like they were poisonous.

"I saw tongue!" He shouted. "Gross!"

* * *

_4:45 PM_

Sam dropped Luka's keys onto the coffee table and yawned, stretching her arms over her head as she walked down the hall. "Anybody home?"

_"In here."_

It had been an incredibly uncooperative day at work all around. Pratt was working through the remainder of a hangover and was irritable. Chen's father wasn't doing too well, and she had taken the day off to be with him. Abby and Carter had been at each other's throats for the past few days. In a trauma, Abby had gotten so pissed off at Carter than she had flung her gloves at his apron and stormed off, only to get in a screaming match with him in the ambulance bay when he had gone after her. Sam didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't about to ask either. When she had gotten her things out of her locker, a teary Abby was sitting in the lounge and a pensive Carter was leaning up against the sink. Both were attempting to carry on a civilized conversation, which apparently had Abby going through tissues.

She adjusted the clip in her hair and yawned, pausing outside the baby's room. Luka was inside, and he was pulling masking tape off certain parts of the wall, paintbrush in hand.

"Hey," he greeted her. "How was work?"

Sam smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "You painted?"

Luka grinned and got down off the chair. He rested his hands on his hips and looked the room over from floor to ceiling. "Do you like it?"

"It looks great. " She rested her head against his shoulder and he gripped her waist loosely with his right hand. "You didn't have to spend your day off doing this."

"I wanted to."

Sam glanced at a large object in the corner. It was covered with a white sheet and had a medium sized red bow on it, too small for such a large present. "What's that?"

"I don't know. I just found it here when I walked in this morning. Why don't you go take a look for yourself?" he teased her.

She humored him with a quick smile and carefully lifted the sheet off. Underneath was a mahogany glider rocking chair, one of the newer brands to come out in recent years. Sam remembered that Susan had a similar one in Isabella's room and had been telling her the night they had visited about how comfortable it was during late night feedings. "Oh, wow."

"So, what do you think?"

"I love it." Sam sat down in it and gently rocked back and forth. "It's comfortable."

"I guess you can say that it'll be definitely put to use then," he smirked. "But I'm glad you like it. Susan helped me pick it out."

Sam stood up and kissed Luka, wiping a paint smear off his cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, you never answered me. How was work?"

"It was okay. Carter and Abby were fighting."

"Again?"

"Yeah. Don't know what about though."

Luka walked out into the hall and towards the living room with Sam. "Alex and Jake went to the movies with Jake's mom."

"What did they go see?"

He shrugged. "Not really sure. When I dropped them off they couldn't decide."

"That's so typical of Alex," Sam laughed. She sat down on the couch and took off her sneakers before propping her feet up on the coffee table. "How much longer do you think they'll let me do traumas?"

"Well…we can't exactly have a whale in the way while we try to prep the chest—"

She whacked him in the arm lightly and smiled, reaching her hand down to massage her ankles. "That's a great thing to say to the birthday girl."

Luka smirked and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, birthday girl. I'll watch what I say next time." He lifted one foot off the table and placed it in his lap. "But to answer your question, maybe six months, possibly seven. Depending on how you feel and what you feel capable of handling. I'd say though by six months Kerry would start drawing the line and kick you out to at least the more minor traumas. Then by seven months you'll probably be stuck with the exam rooms and curtain areas." He began rubbing her foot carefully in between his hands.

"Sounds like a lot to look forward to." Sam glanced at the clock and back to Luka. "Do you remember that night we were coming home from Susan's and you were talking about getting a house somewhere?"

He nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

"Were you serious about that?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't serious. But you said it was a step you didn't think we should be taking right now, so I didn't want to bring it up again," he answered honestly.

"It's not a step we shouldn't be taking. I guess I panicked when you brought it up because it's another big step for us, another commitment. And we've made some pretty big commitments to each other lately, like getting our relationship back on track, this baby, Alex and I moving in with you…a house is pretty big. It's not like either one of us can just move out if things go to shit between us. And yeah, I freaked when you started talking to me about that."

"So…where are we going with this?" Luka questioned, slightly amused.

"I don't know. Okay, this might sound pretty stupid, but I mean…a house? When I was growing up, yeah, you could always live with someone at an apartment, but living with someone in a house…I kind of figured those people were married or something. Like I can't really picture myself living in a house with you, Alex, and the baby without being married…to you."

Then, things got silent. Luka didn't say anything in response, and neither did Sam, so she carefully took the hint and lifted her feet off of his lap. She got up off the couch and walked into their bedroom. Luka sighed and stood up, following.

"Sam…" He stepped into the bedroom and watched her put away their various laundry in the dresser drawers and closet.

"It was stupid of me to say that. I'm sorry." She slammed a drawer shut and opened the closet door again.

"No, it wasn't. I'm stupid for not answering you."

"Forget it."

Luka gently grabbed onto her wrist and pulled her away from the laundry basket. "I'm committing, Sam. Every day that I walk in that door and hug Alex, and kiss you, I'm committing to us, to this, what we're going to become. I don't need some damn official piece of paper telling me that."

"You're scared to get married again, aren't you?" she said softly. He looked down at the carpet and she sat down on the bed, resting her hands in her lap. "I've been scared of being alone every day for ten years and I don't want to be anymore. And then I found you, and I wasn't."

"You want to know the truth, Sam?" He picked up a pair of socks and tossed it into the top drawer. "Maybe I am scared of getting married again. Just like you're afraid of taking a chance to be with me. You think that I'll turn into someone like Steve, and I'm afraid that I'll wake up one morning and you, and Alex, and the baby won't be there anymore due to God knows what. Then I'll be alone again, probably for the rest of my life. I've been alone for fourteen years. I've made some bad choices in my life, but I've also made good ones. And if us committing to each other makes us less afraid—makes everything real, makes me love you more, makes you love me more, then I'll take that chance. Then marry me, Sam. I'm not saying right now. We'll wait until after the baby is born. Whatever you want. We'll get married, because you know what? I want everyone to know that you're my wife, that baby is our child, and Alex is our son."

Sam stared at him, her frown turning into a smile. "God, I can't believe you just said that to me."

He laughed and shrugged. "What do you have to say to that?"

"Yes."

"I was pretty sure I threw a proposal in there somewhere," he smirked. "What can I say, I have a flair for the dramatics."

"It beats the traditional one any day," she laughed, kissing him quickly. "Did you let Alex in on this? Because I swear this morning he was humming the 'Wedding March' under his breath and giving me weird looks before I left for work, after breakfast."

"Nope."

She shrugged. "Okay, I have laundry to finish."

"Want something to eat?"

"What do we have?"

Luka tossed another pair of socks at Sam, which she intercepted perfectly. "I can throw some steaks on the grill."

"What a manly dinner," she laughed.

"What, you don't like steak?" 

* * *

Just a little bit of a note about what Luka was telling Sam: My cousin is a nurse in the ER, and when she was pregnant this past year, they kept her out of major traumas towards the middle of her sixth month and completely out of them by her seventh. I'm pretty positive this is accurate, give or take.


	16. Five Months Down

A/N: Sorry for the delay in this chapter! I had a little bit of writer's block and had final exams this week, but I'm back, so hopefully you all are still interested in reading! Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! =]

* * *

_August 5, 2004_

_"Mom?"_

Sam sat up and reached her hand over to manually turn on the light. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Alex walked over slowly, arms wrapped around his stomach. "My stomach really hurts. I think I have to throw up but I can't yet and it hurts."

"Okay. Come over here and sit down. Let me go get the thermometer to take your temperature." She threw the sheets back on the bed and stood up, rummaging around in the nightstand. She pulled out the ancient mercury thermometer that Luka kept in the drawer for whatever reason and stuck it under Alex's tongue.

Alex quickly pulled it out and hopped off the bed. "I gotta puke right now, Mom." He ran out of the bedroom and down the hall.

Sam rushed down the hall and crouched down next to him, rubbing his back softly in circles. "What did you have to eat at Mikey's?"

"I don't know. A lot of crap. Like ice cream and chips and stuff."

"That explains it then."

Alex leaned back and sighed. "Okay, I feel better now. That was really gross."

"Yeah, it kind of was," she laughed. "Does your stomach hurt anymore?"

"Nope."

"Good." Sam slowly stood up and flushed the toilet as Alex started brushing his teeth. She had quickly entered her fifth month of pregnancy, and the farther along she became, the less energy she had. Even something as small as doing the laundry or making dinner practically had her falling asleep in place. She couldn't remember being this tired with Alex, but then again, she had been fifteen years old up until her eighth month of pregnancy. She did have a lot of energy back then, pregnant or not.

Sam had already started shopping around for tasteful maternity clothes, but would much rather stick to a large tee shirt and a pair of Luka's sweatpants any day when she was just lounging around the apartment before or after work.

"When's Luka getting home?" Alex questioned while rinsing his mouth out with a cup of water.

"Should be on his way home right now. It's after midnight."

"Can I watch a movie?"

Sam sighed and yawned. "It's kind of late."

"So what?"

"You're nine years old," Sam laughed.

"Ten in like, two weeks," Alex shot back.

"Fine. But it better be something that I want to watch too."

"Okay." He ran off quickly and Sam easily followed.

Alex crouched in front of the DVD rack. "What about _Shrek_?"

Sam shook her head. "No. I'm not in the mood for that."

"Okay, what about…_The Mummy Returns_?"

"Sure," she agreed. Instantly she curled up on the couch while Alex started the DVD. He sprawled out on his stomach in the middle of the floor. They both remained like that for the next fifteen minutes until the apartment door unlocked and opened to reveal Luka.

"Hey," he greeted them. "What are you both still doing up?"

"I got sick," Alex told him. "Then I puked and felt better, so we're watching a movie 'cause Mom and I can't sleep."

Luka smirked and walked over, placing his hand on Alex's forehead. "I'm pretty sure you don't have a fever."

"He doesn't," Sam answered. "I think it was just one of those freak things. Plus, he told me he ate a lot of crap today."

"That explains it then."

"Hey, that's exactly what Mom said," Alex added. "Are you gonna watch the movie with us, Luka?"

"Well I have to talk to your mom for a second but in a few minutes, all right?"

"Cool."

Luka motioned for Sam to following him into the kitchen, and she slowly got up off the couch and did so.

"What's wrong?" She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall somewhat. The clock on the microwave read twelve forty-five, causing her to stifle another yawn.

He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Sam. "Steve stopped by the hospital today and gave me that."

Puzzled, Sam opened the envelope to reveal a note and a two hundred dollar check:

_Sammy,_

_I'm in town for a few days on business and figured I'd drop this off at the hospital for Alex. I know he's going to be ten soon and I didn't know what to get him, so I thought that you could make some use out of the money I'm giving you. Maybe put it away for college or a car, I don't know. Well anyway, tell him I said Happy Birthday._

_Steve_

Sam set the note on the kitchen counter and slid the check out. "Wow."

"What?" Luka questioned.

"Nothing," she voiced. "This is about all the money he's ever given me for Alex in ten years."

Luka rested his hand on the small of Sam's back and frowned. "You mean he hasn't paid you child support?"

Sam shook her head. "He was bouncing around from job to job, and after awhile I just stopped calling and asking him about it because I wanted him out of my life—our lives." She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "But I don't know what he expects. I don't know about Alex, but I **really** don't want to see him. If he gave you this then he has to be in town for some reason, and great, I can just imagine me running into him when I work tomorrow."

"Promise me you won't let him get to you?"

She shrugged. "It's Steve. He always gets to me."

* * *

The weekend finally brought time for Sam to catch up on some much needed rest—Steve free. She hadn't run into him once at the hospital. Kerry had somewhat graciously given her both Saturday and Sunday off for some odd reason—but Sam knew that she better take advantage of it because the offer most likely wouldn't come around again.

Sam glanced up at the microwave clock as she pulled the bagel out of the toaster. It was now a little after nine in the morning, which meant Alex and Mikey would probably be getting up within the hour, begging to go swimming in the pool that was set in the middle of Luka's apartment complex. She didn't know why she had let Alex con her in to letting Mikey stay over for the night, but Luka seemed okay with it so she agreed. Luka, on the other hand, hadn't gotten home from the hospital until four and had been snoring away ever since she had gotten up at eight.

Balancing the bagel and a glass of orange juice, the phone began to ring. Sam set down the glass and reached over to pick it up, but not before taking a bite out of her bagel.

"Hello?" she mumbled into the phone, swallowing a big gulp of orange juice.

_"Sammy, hi. How are you?"_

Sam paused. She knew she had given her mother this number weeks ago, but after Lynne's little run out at the restaurant, she wasn't planning on contacting her until it was necessary. Like either she went into labor or Thanksgiving time.

"Hi. I'm okay. You?"

_"Not bad. Well, I've been meaning to call…"_

"Yeah, so have I," Sam lied.

_"I know our last phone call left us on bad terms, and I wanted you to know that I'm sorry for what I said and I hope you can forgive me for it. Sometimes it's hard for me to realize that you're no longer my little girl, and that you're twenty-six years old with a family of your own."_

"Mom, I haven't been your little girl since I was fifteen years old."

_Lynne laughed. "I know, honey, but it's hard for me sometimes. You'll understand one day. I left a message on your cell phone and I was wondering if it would be all right for me to come up for Alex's birthday on the eighteenth?"_

"You're going to fly here again from New Jersey? Did you and Bruce hit the lottery?"

_"No, actually…we separated last month. Right before your birthday. A lot of things just weren't working for either one of us, and the fact that you and him never seemed to get along really got under my skin."_

Sam paused and took another sip of her juice. "So you're getting a divorce?"

_"It seems that way. I've already started seeing someone else, who I think you'll like very much, and if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to bring him along with me, if that's okay?"_

"I guess…that's fine."

_"Then I'll call you with details sometime next week?"_

"Uh, sure."

_"Tell Alex and Luke I said hello."_

"Luka, Mom. Luka."

_"Oh, right. I'm sorry! Luka."_

Sam hung up the phone minutes later, just as Alex and Mikey stomped into the kitchen.

"Mom, can we go to the pool now?"

"You guys aren't hungry?" she questioned, placing the empty dish and glass in the sink.

"Nope," Mikey added in. "Please Miss Taggart! We'll get breakfast later."

Sam cracked a smile and nodded. "Okay, okay. Go get your bathing suits on and I'll get the lotion."

"Cool! You're the best Miss Taggart!" Mikey shouted, taking off down the hall.

"Hey, can Luka come?" Alex shouted out.

"Shh," Sam scolded. "No, he's sleeping."

"Not anymore," Luka yawned. He wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and leaned over to kiss her good morning. "Going to the pool?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "Wanna come?"

"You don't have to," Sam sighed. "I can handle it. I'll probably just grab a magazine or something and hang out with them."

"Mom, you gotta come in," Alex begged. "Please!"

"Yeah Mom, you gotta come in," Luka mimicked, hugging her loosely. "I'll get my bathing suit."

"See? Luka's coming in so you have to!"

Sam groaned. "Hey, if you're all up for seeing a whale in the middle of the pool, then that's fine with me."

"You're not a whale," Luka grinned. "You're just a cuter version of Shamu."

* * *

Review please! =]


	17. Weathering the Storm

A/N: Sorry that it's been awhile since I've updated. I'm trying to balance several other fics, as well as working part time and setting aside time for friends. Best part of the summer is that I still have a lot of free time on my hands, so I promise I **will** get another update of this story up much sooner. I know it's somewhat short, but it's an important plot filler. I'm also not sure how many more chapters this story will span, but I can assure you it'll be enough to keep everyone happy. If all goes well, you can expect to see a potential sequel to this when it's wrapped up, because I have some ideas floating in my head.

Also, I realize that Alex's birthday is not in the summer and that there was an episode based around it in Season 10. However, I missed a handful of episodes in the middle of this season and must have stupidly missed that one. For the sake of continuity, I'm keeping his birthday in the summer.

Anyway, with that said, enjoy!

Mari

* * *

_August 17, 2004_

Sam tapped her foot impatiently against the carpeted floor of the Obstetrics waiting room. It was now five to two in the afternoon, and she had been sitting in a chair with her legs crossed for the last fifteen minutes. If she had to drink any more water without using the bathroom, Sam was sure that she wouldn't be able to make it to the exam room, let alone to the hallway.

She checked her watch one more time to make sure that she hadn't mixed up her appointment time. Luka was late, and Sam was sure she had told him more than once to meet her upstairs at 1:45. It had started storming the minute she had left their apartment, and even though Luka was right downstairs in the ER, she hoped that something hadn't happened to him.

Coburn had scheduled Sam in today for her routine ultrasound. At five and a half months pregnant, maybe Sam's patience was starting to wear thin, but Luka had known about this appointment since the beginning of August. He had even been the one to set it up in the first place. Now he was late, and she had no idea what was keeping him. Yes, he could be stuck in a trauma, but that was somewhat unlikely, since his shift supposedly had ended at one thirty. Still, Sam knew how understaffed the ER could get and figured that was probably what had happened.

"Sam?" 

Sam pulled herself out of her seat and quickly crossed into the hall, following the nurse into an exam room. She hoped he had a good excuse.

* * *

"Mom, can Mikey and Jake spend the night tonight?" Alex started playing with the radio, settling it on the local rock station. A somewhat new song came blasting out of the speakers and Sam turned it down automatically.

"No." She signaled onto a side street, whipping Luka's Lincoln Aviator around the corner like a pro. It was still pouring buckets out, so she had to squint somewhat to see.

"What? Mom, it's my birthday tomorrow!"

"Yes Alex, I know it's your birthday tomorrow, but my answer's still no. Tomorrow night."

"Mikey can't stay over tomorrow night! He's gotta go to his grandma's!" Alex pouted, crossing his arms over his chest. "And neither can Jake."

Sam quickly pulled into the apartment parking deck and sighed. "Fine." She dug her cell phone out of her bag once she had parked and handed it to him. "Call them both now and tell them they can come over around six. That'll give me enough time to put the frosting on your cake and order a pizza. But I mean it, Alex. No staying up past midnight because I want to be able to get some sleep tonight. Grandma's flying in tomorrow morning."

"Cool!" He started dialing away as Sam led him onto street level and up the stairs of the apartment building. By the time they had reached Luka's apartment door, Mikey and Jake were both set to come over. "Thanks Mom."

"Sure," she smiled, hugging him lightly. "Sorry I was so pissy before. I know it means a lot to you because it's your birthday and all."

"It's okay," he shrugged. "Are you pissed at Luka because he didn't show up at the doctor's?"

Sam shrugged. "Kind of. It's not a big deal. Forget it."

"I think it's cool that I'm the first one to know that I'm getting a little sister, Mom. So don't feel too shitty."

"Crappy, Alex. Watch your language please," she corrected with a groan. "I don't want to get phone calls from your fifth grade teacher in September because you don't have any manners." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "But thanks."

"What are you gonna name her?"

"Who knows," Sam smiled again. "I'm sure Luka and I will figure something out by December."

Just then, the apartment door opened and Luka walked in with a frown on his face. "Sam, I am so sorry."

"Alex, can you do me a favor and order that pizza for you, Mikey, and Jake? Half cheese, half whatever else you guys want, okay?" Sam asked. "Thanks buddy."

Taking the hint, Alex nodded and scrambled off to his room with the phone. Sam waited until the door was shut and shrugged at Luka.

"By the time I had gotten upstairs, they said you left. I got tied up in the damn ER—"

"Look, I really don't want to hear any excuses, okay? You missed probably the most important appointment of my whole damn pregnancy and you knew about this, Luka! You knew about it for three fucking weeks ahead of time! That's bullshit that you couldn't get away. I even talked to Kerry this morning! She told me that she had no problem letting you get off early and go up there to meet me. Even Carter said he would cover for you. You stayed down there anyway."

He looked away, but nodded his head slightly. "Is everything all right with you and the baby?"

"Everything's fine. She's fine, I'm fine," she replied crossly.

"She?" Sam saw the expression on Luka's face light up instantly and a grin break out across his face. "Sam, you just said she."

"Did she stutter?" Alex mumbled sarcastically as he passed from the hall and into the kitchen. "The pizza place said fifteen minutes, Mom."

"Okay," Sam answered him. "And Alex, that wasn't very nice. Apologize. Now."

"Sorry, Luka." He disappeared back into his room not long after, but the grin still remained on Luka's face.

"A girl? We're having a girl."

"Yes," Sam nodded. "We're having a girl." She walked over to her purse and dug out the printed ultrasound pictures. "Here. I had them print another copy because I thought you might want to hang it in your locker at work. I mean…you don't have to, but I didn't know."

"No, these are great." He continued grinning as he glanced at the few pictures. But his face fell soon after. "I'm sorry I missed it. I'll talk to Coburn and set up another appointment for us, all of us. Alex too."

Sam smiled slightly and rested her hand on Luka's arm. "You don't have to do that."

"No, I want to," Luka stated firmly. "I'll talk to Coburn about if first thing." He leaned in and kissed her forehead gently. "I'm so sorry, Sam. I love you, you know that, right? I know how much this meant to you."

"I know. I love you too," she promised him. "Things have been crazy around here lately, with my mom coming in again, Alex's birthday, and work."

"I know. Why don't you try to get some days off this week? Then maybe you and I could do some planning for this baby of ours and maybe…that wedding?"

"I thought we both agreed to having a small wedding with an even smaller reception?"

He nodded. "We did, but I just thought that maybe I could get you to change your mind."

She smiled. "Okay, I admit it, a big wedding of my dreams would be nice, but not unless I can fit in a damn wedding dress without looking like something straight out of a nightmare. And then even that gets complicated and will take a lot of planning, unless we hire one of those wedding planner types. If we go through with it, the baby's only going to be a few months old and if we decide on a honeymoon, then who's going to watch Alex and the baby when we're gone? And if your father and brother fly in from Croatia like you want them to, I'm sure they're going to stay longer than just for our wedding."

"That's true, you do have some good points," Luka agreed. "I just want to give you a nice wedding. I don't want you to think back on it as being a Las Vegas wedding. I'd really like to marry you before this baby is born. We could get a priest and hold a small reception, just like you want. We could hold it sometime next month."

"But what about your family?"

"I could fly them here."

Sam sighed. "Luka, they don't even know you're seeing me, let alone that we're about to get married or that I'm pregnant. We should really wait until after the baby is born. I think it would just be easier on everyone."

"You're right." He kissed the top of her head with a sparkle in his eye. "But is it wrong of me to now want to wait anymore?"

"No, it's not," she smiled. "We just sort of did everything backwards." She walked over to the couch and sat down on it, resting her feet on the small end. "So what was going on in the ER today that had you so tied up?"

He sighed and lifted her feet up on onto his lap so he could sit down. "We had a bad MVA come in. Just a mother and her little daughter. She couldn't have been more than three or four years old. Apparently the brakes on a truck failed and spun them into a concrete divider on the parkway. The mother was a mess—massive internal bleeding, a punctured lung, the works."

"Did she pull through?"

Luka nodded. "Barely. She spent five hours up in the OR trying to repair the damage and is probably going to be in the ICU for the next week or two. But her daughter was a trooper. She broke her arm and to make a long story short, after I set it I ended up keeping an eye on her until her father got to the hospital."

"That was sweet of you," Sam laughed. "I'm glad that you helped her out."

He cleared his throat and looked away. "She looked just like Jasna, Sam."

Sam lightly rested her hand in his and squeezed it, not sure of the right thing to say.

"I felt like I had to stay, to comfort her." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry I missed it, Sam. I knew how important this was to you, to us."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have yelled at you when you walked in. I'm sorry."

"You know," he said, kissing her neck mischievously. "Making up is the best part of arguing."

"Did you guys stop arg—ew," Alex said softly, noticing what his mother and Luka were doing. "Can you please do that somewhere else?"

Sam smiled at him and pulled away, standing up from the couch. "You know, one day, you're going to find someone special to do that with. And check your blood sugar before you eat, please."

"Hah, yeah right. And then I'll have to suffer through a lame ass sex speech too."

"No, I'll save that for Luka."

Luka chuckled and grinned, ruffling Alex's hair as he followed Sam into the kitchen. "Thanks a lot."

"Anytime," Sam smiled, grabbing the paper plates out of the cabinet. "Mikey and Jake are spending the night."

"Any chance we'll be able to get some alone time?"

"They're usually pretty occupied when they eat, and then they'll run off to Alex's room to set up the Playstation, so if I grab you and shove you into the broom closet spontaneously, no hard feelings, right?" she joked.

"None at all."

* * *

Next chapter is Alex's tenth birthday, complete with Sam's mother and a surprise visitor. I'm sure you can all guess who that surprise visitor is, heh. Review please!


End file.
